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W \vyv\uipouM^Ly 



Settlement of (3et mantown 

Pennsylvania 

ano tbe 

^Beginning of (Serman Emigration 

to 

Bortb Hmerica 



BY 

/ 

HON. SAMUEL WHITAKER PENNYPACKER, LL.D. 

President Judge of the Philadelphia Court of Common Pleas, No. 2, and senior 
Vice-President of the Historical Society of Pennsylvania. 



WILLIAM J. CAMPBELL, 
PHILADELPHIA. 

1899. 






sngrstifc 

Office e f the 



Register of Copyrights, 



THREE HUNDRED COPIES PRINTED 
FROM TYPE. 



47662 



COPYRIGHT BY 

SAMUEL W. PENNYPACKER 

1899 

ALL RIGHTS RESERVED 



PRESS OF 

The new Era Printing Company 
lancaster, pa 



SECOND COPY, 





PREFACE. 

S it seemed to be a duty which could 
not be avoided, I have written the fol- 
lowing history of the settlement of one 
of the most interesting of the Amer- 
ican burghs. A descendant of Hen- 
drick Pannebecker, Abraham Op den 
Graeff , Paul Kuster, Cornelius Tyson, 
Peter Conrad, Hendrick Sellen, Hans Peter Umstat and 
probably of William Rittenhouse, all of them among the 
early residents of Germantown, for thirty years I have been 
gradually gathering the original materials from over the 
world. The task was one of great difficulty, presenting ob- 
stacles not encountered elsewhere and requiring the ex- 
amination of almost inaccessible books and papers in the 
Dutch, German, French and Latin, as well as the English 
languages. An article written by me in 1880, since copied 
en masse as to facts, language and notes, in Cassel's History 
of the Mennonites, and used by other authors, has here been 
reconstructed. The careful and thorough investigations of 
the late Dr. Oswald Seidensticker, the work of Julius 
F. Sachse upon the German Pietists, the papers of the late 
Horatio Gates Jones and the article of H. P. G. Quack, 
of Amsterdam, upon Plockhoy's Sociale Plannen have 
been used freely. I am indebted likewise to Mr. Sachse 
for the production of the illustrations. 



Note — Initial from Plockhoy's Kort en Klaer Ontwerp. 

iii 



LIST OF ORIGINAL ILLUSTRATIONS. 



i Portrait of the Author Frontispiece. 

2 Coat-of-Arms of the Pennypacker family Preface. 

3 Letter from Plockhoy's Kort en Klaer Ontwerp .... " 

4 Coat-of-Arms of German Society i 

5 Arms of Crefeld I 

6 Autograph of William Penn 3 

7 Menno Simons 8 

8 Caspar Schwenckfeld 13 

9 Autograph of Thomas Story 14 

10 Arms of the Netherlands 20 

11 Arms of Frankfort 21 

12 Johanna Eleanora von Merlau . . 22 

13 Arms and Autograph of Jacob Van de Wall 22 

14 Arms and Autograph of Daniel Behagel 22 

15 Seal and Autograph of Dr. Johann Wilhelm Petersen . 24 

16 Dr. Johann Wilhelm Petersen 24 

17 Title page of the Hertzens-Gesprach 25 

18 Title page of the Offenbahrung Jesu Christi .... 26 

19 Arms and Autograph of Johannes Kemler 27 

20 Arms and Autograph of Thomas von Wylich • * . . . 28 

21 Seal and Autograph of Johann Jacob Schiitz 29 

22 Arms and Autograph of Balthasar Jawert ....... 32 

23 Agreement of the Frankfort Land Company 32 

24 Arms and Autograph of Gerhard von Mastricht .... 34 

25 Arms and Autograph of Johan Le Brun 36 

26 Letter of Attorney from the Frankfort Land Company 

to Johannes Kelpius 39 

27 Autograph of John Henry Sprogell 44 

28 Arms of London 50 

29 Page from the Bee Hive of Pastorius 50 

30 Arms of Pastorius 51 

31 Autograph of Francis Daniel Pastorius 52 

32 Title page of the Disputatio Inauguralis of Pastorius . 55 

33 Title page of the Beschreibung der Pennsylvania^, 1700. 65 

34 Page from the Beschreibung 67 

35 Title page of the Beschreibung, 1704 68 

36 Title page of the Vier Kleine Tractatlein 69 



vi Illustrations. 

37 Title page of the Beschreibung des Windsheim .... 70 

38 Title page of Bin Send Brieff 71 

39 Title page of Four Boasting Disputers 72 

40 Seal of Pastorius 74 

41 Letter of Pastorius 80 

42 Arms of William Penn 81 

43 Arms of the Jacquet family 89 

44 Title page of Missive van Cornells Bom 103 

45 Seal of William Penn 11c 

46 Arms of the Palatinate in 

47 Shoes of the Palatines 112 

48 Title page of Croese's Quaker Historie 113 

49 Title page of Croese's Historia Quakeriana 115 

50 Title page of Croese's History of the Quakers . ... 117 

51 Autograph of Peter Shoemaker 118 

52 Autograph of Hendrick Pannebecker 122 

53 Flomborn 122 

54 Seal of Germantown 123 

55 Letter of Pieter Hendricks 127 

56 Comet of 1680 . . . , 126 

57 Bible of Hans Peter Umstat 128 

58 Copper plate of Dirck Keyser _ 130 

59 Tobias Govertz Van den Wyngaert 132 

60 Title page of works of Menno Simons 132 

61 Title page of Some Letters from Pennsylvania .... 135 

62 Imprint of Reynier Jansen 136 

63 Autograph of Benjamin Furly 137 

64 Imprint of Reynier Jansen 138 

65 Tombstone of Cornelius Tyson 140 

66 Erasmus by Albert Durer 142 

67 Arms of the Holy Roman Fmpire 143 

68 Arms of Amsterdam 144 

69 Autograph of Hermann op den Graeff 150 

70 Rittenhouse Paper Mill 162 

71 Arms of Miihlheim 162 

72 Title Page of Frame's Description of Pennsylvania . . 163 

73 Water Mark of Rittenhouse paper . 166 

74 Mennonite Meeting House . 168 

75 Title page of The Christian Confession 1712 171 

76 Title page of The Christian Confession 1727 .... 172 

77 Title page of Appendix to the Confession of Faith of 

the Mennonites 173 

78 Autograph of Hendrick Sellen 174 



Illustrations. vii 

79 Mennonite Meeting House 175 

80 Vignette from Plockhoy's Kort en Klaer Ontwerp . . 177 

81 Letter written by Matthias Van Bebber 182 

82 Title Page of the Kort en Klaer Ontwerp 196 

83 Page from the Kort en Klaer Ontwerp 209 

84 Kelpius' Arms 212 

85 Book plate of Benjamin Furly 214 

86 Cave of Kelpius 222 

87 Autograph of Johannes Kelpius 223 

88 Diploma of Christopher Witt 224 

89 Title page of Hymns of Kelpius 225 

90 Portrait of Kelpius . 226 

91 Page from Journal of Kelpius 229 

92 Autograph of Daniel Falckner 230 

93 Title page of Sprogell's Tractatlein 232 

94 Autograph of Justus Falckner 233 

95 Penn Arms 234 

96 Title page of Falckner's Curieuse Nachricht 242 

97 Title page of the Continuation of the Beschreibung der 

Pennsylvaniae 243 

98 Germantown Colonial Doorway 253 

99 Arms of Rotterdam 254 

100 Title page of Book of Laws .... 254 

101 Autograph of Matthias Van Bebber 255 

102 Title of Laws and Ordinances 266 

103 John of Leyden 10 

104 Map of Germantown, 1688 278 

105 Page from Book of Laws 280 

106 Mill on Cresheim Creek 288 

107 Seal of Philadelphia 293 




THE SETTLEMENT OF GERMANTOWN, PA., 
AND THE BEGINNING OF GERMAN EMI- 
GRATION TO NORTH AMERICA. 

CHAPTER I. 

Crefeld and the Mennonites. 



t^^HE settlement of German- 
||J town in 1683, was the 
initial step in the great 
movement of people from the 
regions bordering on the his- 
toric and beautiful Rhine, ex- 
tending from its source in the 
mountains of Switzerland to 
its mouth in the lowlands of 
Holland, which has done so 
much to give Pennsylvania her 
rapid growth as a colony, her 
almost unexampled prosperity, and her foremost rank 
in the development of the institutions of the country. The 
first impulse, followed by the first wave of emigration, 
came from Crefeld, a city of the lower Rhine within a 
few miles of the borders of Holland. This city has in re- 




2 The Settlement of Germantozvn. 

cent years grown greatly in wealth and population, through 
the evolution of extensive manufactories of silk and other 
woven goods from the weaving industries established there 
centuries ago by the Mennonites. 

On the ioth of March, 1682, William Penn conveyed 
to Jacob Telner, of Crefeld, doing business as a merchant 
in Amsterdam, Jan Streypers, a merchant of Kaldkirchen, 
a village in the vicinity, still nearer to Holland, and Dirck 
Sipman, of Crefeld, each five thousand acres of land to be 
laid out in Pennsylvania. As the deeds were executed 
upon that day, 1 the design must have been in contempla- 

1 Mr. Lawrence Lewis has suggested that under the system of double 
dating between January 1st and March 25th, which then prevailed, it is 
probable that the date was March 10, 1682-83. The evidence pro and con 
is strong and conflicting. The facts in favor of 1682-3 are mainly : 

1. It is manifest from an examination of the patents that the cus- 
tom was, whenever a single date, as 1682, was mentioned within those 
limits, the latter date, 1682-83, was meant. 

2. A deed to Telner, dated June 2, 1683 (Ex. Rec, 8, p. 655), recites 
as follows : " Whereas, the said William Penn by indentures of lease and 
release, bearing date the ninth and tenth days of the month called March 
for the consideration therein mentioned, etc." The presumption is that 
the March referred to is the one immediately preceding. 

3. The lease and release to Telner March 9th and ioth, 1682, and sev- 
eral deeds of June, 1683, are all recited to have been in the 35th year of 
the reign of Charles II. It is evident that March 10, 1681-82, and June, 
1683, could not both have been within the same year. 

This would be enough to decide the matter if the facts in favor of 
1681-82 were not equally conclusive. They are : 

1. It is probable, a priori, and from the German names of the wit- 
nesses that the deeds to the Crefelders, except that to Telner, were dated 
and delivered by Benj. Furly7 Penn's agent at Rotterdam, for the sale of 
lands. In both Holland and Germany the present system of dating had 
been in use for over a century. 

2. A patent (Ex. Rec, Vol. I., p. 462) recites as follows : " Whereas, 
by my indentures of lease and release dated the 9 and 10 days of March 
Anno 16S2 • • • and whereas by my indentures date the first day of 
April, and year aforesaid, I remised and released to the same Dirck Sip- 
man the yearly rent • ■ • ." The year aforesaid was 1682, and if the 



Crefcld. 3 

tion and the arrangements made some time before. Tel- 
ner had been in America between the years 1678 and 1681, 
and we may safely infer that his acquaintance with the 
country had much influence in bringing about the pur- 
chase. 2 

On the 1 1 th of June , 
1683, Penn conveyed 
to GovertRemke, Le- 
nart Arets, and Jacob 
Isaacs Van Bebber, a 
baker, all of Crefeld, one thousand acres of land each, 
and they, together with Telner, Streypers, and Sipman, 
constituted the original Crefeld purchasers. It is evident 
that their purpose was colonization, and not speculation. 
The arrangement between Penn and Sipman provided that 
a certain number of families should go to Pennsylvania 
within a specified time, and probably the other purchasers 




quit rent was released April 1, i6S2, the conveyance to Sipman must have 
been earlier. If on the 25th of March another year, 1683, had intervened, 
the word "aforesaid" could not have been correctly used. This con- 
struction is strengthened by the fact that the release of quit rent to 
Streypers, which took place April 1, 1683, is recited in another patent 
(Ex. Rec, 1, p. 686) as follows : " Of which said sum or yearly rent by 
an indenture bearing date the first day of April for the consideration 
therein mentioned in the year 1683 I remised and released." 

3. The lease and release to Telner on March 9 and 10, 1682, are signed 
by William Penn, witnessed by Herbert Springett, Thomas Coxe and 
Seth Craske, and purport to have been executed in England. An Op den 
Graeff deed in the Germantown book recites that they were executed at 
London. Now, in March, 1681-82, Penn was in England, but in March, 
16S2-83, he was in Philadelphia. 

4. Pastorius says that Penn at first declined to give the Frankfort 
Company city lots, because they had made their purchase after he (Penn) 
had left England and the books had been closed, and that a special ar- 
rangement was made to satisfy them. Penn left England Sept. 1, 1682.- 
The deeds show that the Crefelders received their city lots. 

2 Hazard's Register, Vol. VI., p. 183. 



4 The Settlement of Germantozvn. 

entered into similar stipulations. 3 However that may be, 
ere long thirteen men with their families, comprising 
thirty-three persons, nearly all of whom were relatives, 
were ready to embark to seek new homes across the ocean. 
They were Lenart Arets, Abraham Op den Graeff, Dirck 
Op den Graeff, Herman Op den Graeff, Willem Strey- 
pers, Thones Kunders, Reynier Tyson, Jan Seimens, 
Jan Lensen, Peter Keurlis, Johannes Bleikers, Jan Lucken, 
and Abraham Tunes. The three Op den Graeffs were 
brothers, Hermann was a son-in-law of Van Bebber, they 
were accompanied by their sister Margaretha and their 
mother, and they were cousins of Jan and Willem Streypers, 
who were also brothers. The wives of Thones Kunders and 
Lenart Arets were sisters of the Streypers, and the wife of 
Jan was the sister of Reynier Tyson. Peter Keurlis was also 
a relative, and the location of the signatures of Jan Lucken 
and Abraham Tunes on the certificate of the marriage of 
a son of Thones Kunders with a daughter of Willem 
Streypers in 17 10 indicates that they, too, were connected 
with the group by family ties. 4 On the 7th of June, 1683, 
Jan Streypers and Jan Lensen entered into an agreement 
at Crefeld by the terms of which Streypers was to let Len- 
sen have fifty acres of land at a rent of a rix dollar and 
half a stuyver, and to lend him fifty rix dollars for eight 
years at the interest of six rix dollars annually. Lensen 
was to transport himself and wife to Pennsylvania, to clear 
eight acres of Streyper's land and to work for him twelve 
days in each year for eight years. The agreement pro- 
ceeds, " I further promise to lend him a Linnen weaving 



3 Dutch deed from Sipman to Peter Schumacher in the Germantown 
Book, in the Recorder's office. 

* Streper MSS. in the Historical Society. The marriage certificate be- 
longed to Dr. J. H. Conrad. 



Crefeld. 5 

stool with 3 combs, and he shall have said weaving stool 
for two years . . . and for this Jan Lensen shall 
teach my son Leonard in one year the art of weaving, and 
Leonard shall be bound to weave faithfully during said 
year." On the 18th of June the little colony were in Rot- 
terdam, whither they were accompanied by Jacob Telner r 
Dirck Sipman, and Jan Streypers, and there many of their 
business arrangements were completed. Telner conveyed 
two thousand acres of land to the brothers Op den Graeff , 
and Sipman made Hermann Op den Graeff his attorney. 
Jan Streypers conveyed one hundred acres to his brother 
Willem, and to Siemens and Keurlis each two hundred 
acres. Bleikers and Lucken each bought two hundred acres 
from Benjamin Furly^ agent for the purchasers at Frank- 
fort. At this time Janes Claypoole, a Quaker merchant 
in London, who had previously had business relations 
of some kind with Telner, was about to remove with 
his family to Pennsylvania, intending to sail in the Con- 
cord, Wm. Jeffries, master, a vessel of five hundred tons 
burthen. Through him a passage from London was en- 
gaged for them in the same vessel, which was expected to 
leave Gravesend on the 6th of July, and the money was paid 
in advance. 5 It is now ascertained definitely that eleven 
of these thirteen emigrants were from Crefeld, and the 
presumption that their two companions, Jan Lucken and 
Abraham Tunes, came from the same city is consequently 
strong. This presumption is increased by the indications 
of relationship and the fact that the wife of Jan Seimens 
was Mercken Williamsen Lucken. Fortunately, however^ 
we are not wanting in evidence of a general character. 
Pastorius, after having an interview with Telner at Rotter- 
dam a few weeks earlier, accompanied by four servants, 

5 Letter book of James Claypoole in the Historical Society. 



6 The Settlement of Gcrmantozin. 

who appear to have been Jacob Schumacher, Isaac Dil- 
beck, George Wertmuller and Koenradt Rutters, had gone 
to America representing both the purchasers at Frankfort 
and Crefeld. In his reference to the places in which he 
stopped on his journey down the Rhine he nowhere men- 
tions emigrants except at Crefeld, where he says: "I 
talked with Tunes Kunders and his wife, Dirck Hermann 
and Abraham Op den Graeff, and many others who six 
weeks later followed me." For some reason the emigrants 
were delayed between Rotterdam and London, and Clay- 
poole was in great uneasiness for fear the vessel should be 
compelled to sail without them, and they should lose their 
passage money. He wrote several letters about them to 
Benjamin Furly at Rotterdam. June 19th he says : "I am 
glad to hear the Crevill ffriends are coming." July 3d he 
says : " Before I goe away wch now is like to be longer 
than we expected by reason of the Crevill friends not com- 
ing we are fain to loyter and keep the ship still at Black- 
wall upon one pretence or another ;" and July 10th he says : 
" It troubles me much that the friends from Crevillt are not 
yet come." 6 As he had the names of the thirty-three per- 
sons, this contemporary evidence is very strong, and it 
would seem safe to conclude that all of this pioneer band, 
which, with Pastorius, founded Germantown, came from 
Crefeld. Henry Melchoir Muhlenberg says the first comers 
were platt-deutch from the neighborhood of Cleves. 7 De- 
spite the forebodings of Claypoole the emigrants reached 
London in time for the Concord, and they set sail west- 
ward on the 24th of July. While they are for the first 
time experiencing the dangers and trials of a trip across 
the ocean, doubtless sometimes looking back with regret, 

6 Letter book of James Claypoole. 
7 Hallesche Nachrichten, p. 665. 



The Waldenses. 7 

but oftener wistfully and wonderingly forward, let us re- 
turn to inquire who these people were who were wilUng to 
abandon forever the old homes and old friends along the 
Rhine, and commence new lives with the wolf and the 
savage in the forests upon the shores of the Delaware. 

The origin of the sect of Mennonites is somewhat in- 
volved in obscurity. Their opponents, following Sleidanus 
and other writers of the 16th century, have reproached 
them with being an outgrowth of the Anabaptists of Mun- 
ster. On the contrary, their own historians, Mehrning, 
Van Braght, Maatschoen and Roosen, trace their theo- 
logical and lineal descent from the Waldenses, some of 
whose communities are said to have existed from the 
earliest Christian times, and who were able to maintain 
themselves in obscure parts of Europe, against the power 
of Rome, in large numbers from the 12th century down- 
ward. The subject has of recent years received thorough 
and philosophical treatment at the hands of S. Blaupot Ten 
Cate, a Dutch historian. 8 

The theory of the Waldensian origin is based mainly on 
a certain similarity in creed and church observances ; the 
fact that the Waldenses are known to have been numerous 
in those portions of Holland and Flanders where the Men- 
nonites arose and throve, and to have afterward disap- 



8 Geschiedkundig Onderzoek naar den Waldenzischen oorsprong van 
de Nederlandsche Doopsgezinden. Amsterdam, 1844. 

A nearly contemporary authority, which seems to have escaped the ob- 
servation of European investigators, is " De vitis, sectis, et dogmatibus 
omnium Haereticorum, &c, per Gabrielem Prateolum Marcossium," pub- 
lished at Cologne in 1583, which says, p. 25 : " Est perniciosior etiam tertia 
quae quoniam a Catholocis legitime baptizatos rebaptizat, Anabaptistorum 
secta vocatur. De quo genere videntur etiam fuisse fratres Vualdenses >' 
quos et ipsos non ita pridem rebaptizasse constat, quamuis eorum non- 
nulli, nuper adeo, sicut ipsi in Apologia sua testantur miterare Baptismum 
desierint ; in multis tamen eos cum Anabaptistis conuenire certum est." 



8 The Settlement of Germantown. 

peared ; the ascertained descent of some Mennonite families 
from Waldenses ; and a marked similarity in habits and 
occupations. This last fact is especially interesting in our 
investigation, as will be hereafter seen. The Waldenses 
carried the art of weaving from Flanders into Holland, and 
so generally followed that trade as in many localities to 
have gone by the name of Tisserands, or weavers. 9 It is 
not improbable that the truth lies between the two theories 
of friend and foe, and that the Baptist movement which 
swept through Germany and the Netherlands in the early 
part of the 16th century gathered into its embrace many of 
these communities of Waldenses. At the one extreme of 
this movement were Thomas Munzer, Bernhard Rothman, 
Jean Matthys and John of Leyden ; at the other were 
Menno Simons and Dirck Philips. Between them stood 
Battenberg and David Joris, of Delft. The common ground 
of them all, and about the only ground which they had in 
common, was opposition to the baptism of infants. The 
first party became entangled in the politics of the time, and 
ran into the wildest excesses. They preached to the peas- 
antry of Europe, trodden beneath the despotic heels of 
Church and State, that the kingdom of Christ upon earth 
was at hand, that all human authority ought to be resisted 
and overthrown, and all property be divided. After fight- 
ing many battles and causing untold commotion, they took 
possession of the city of Munster, and made John of Leyden 
a king. The pseudo-kingdom endured for more than a 
year of siege and riot, and then was crushed by the power 
of the State, and John of Leyden was torn to pieces with 
red hot pincers, and his bones set aloft in an iron cage for 
a warning. 10 

9 Ten Cate's Onderzoek, p. 42. 

10 Catrou's Histoire des Anabaptistes, p. 462. 



THE SETTLEHENT OF GERHANTOWN. 




The Mennonitcs. 9 

Menno Simons was born in the village of Witmarsum in 
Friesland, in the year 1492, and was educated for the 
priesthood, upon whose duties early in life he entered. 
The beheading of Sicke Snyder for rebaptism in the year 
1531 in his near neighborhood called his attention to the 
subject of infant baptism, and after a careful examination 
of the Bible and the writings of Luther and Zwinglius, he 
came to the conclusion there was no foundation for the 
doctrine in the Scriptures. At the request of a little com- 
munity near him holding like views he began to preach to 
them, and in 1536 formally severed his connection with 
the Church of Rome. Ere long he began to be recognized 
as the leader of the Doofisgezindc or Taufgesinntc, and 
gradually the sect assumed from him the name of Menno- 
nites. His first book was a dissertation against the errors 
and delusions in the teachings of John of Leyden, and 
after a convention held at Buckhold, in Westphalia, in 
1538, at which Battenberg and David Joris were present, 
and Menno and Dirck Philips were represented, the influ- 
ence of the fanatical Anabaptists seems to have waned. 11 
His entire works, published at Amsterdam in 1681, make 
a folio volume of 642 pages. Luther and Calvin stayed 
their hands at a point where power and influence would 
have been lost, but the Dutch reformer, Menno, far in 
advance of his time, taught the complete severance of 
Church and State, and the principles of religious liberty 
which have been embodied in our own federal constitution 
were first worked out in Holland. 12 

The Mennonites believed that no baptism was efficacious 



11 Nippold's Life of David Joris. Roosen's Menno Simons, p. 32. 

12 Barclay's Religious Societies of the Commonwealth, pp. 78, 676; 
Menno's " Exhortation to all in Authority," in his works. Funk's edi- 
tion, Vol. I., p. 75; Vol. II., p. 303. 



io The Settlement of Germantown. 

unless accompanied by repentance, and that the ceremony 
administered to infants was vain. They took not the sword 
and were entirely non-resistant. 13 They swore not at all. 14 
They practiced the washing of the feet of the brethren, 15 
and made use of the ban or the avoidance of those who 
were pertinaciously derelict. 16 In dress and speech they 
were plain and in manners simple. Their ecclesiastical 
enemies, even while burning them for their heresies, bore 
testimony to the purity of their lives, their thrift, and 
homely virtues. 17 They were generally husbandmen and 
artisans, and so many of them were weavers, that we are 
told by Roosen, certain woven and knit fabrics were known 
as Mennonite goods. 1S 

The shadow of John of Leyden, however, hung over 
them, the name of Anabaptist clung to them, and no sect, 
not even the early Christians, was ever more bitterly or 
persistently persecuted. There were put to death for this 
cause at Rotterdam seven persons, Haarlem ten, the Hague 
thirteen, Cortrijk twenty, Brugge twenty-three, Amsterdam 
twenty-six, Ghent one hundred and three, and Antwerp 
two hundred and twenty-nine, and in the last named city 
there were thirty-seven in 1571 and thirty-seven in 1574, 
the last by fire. 19 It was usual to burn the men and 
drown the women. Occasionally some were buried 
alive, and the rack and like preliminary tortures were 

13 Matthew, XXVI. , 52. 

"Matthew, V., 32-37. 

15 John, XIII., 4, 17; I. Timothy, V., 10. 

"Matthew, XVIII. , 17; I. Corinthians, V., 9, 11 ; Thes., III., 14. 

17 Says Catrou, p. 269, " On ne peut disconvenir que des sectes de la 
sorte n'ajent ete remplies d'assez bonnes gens et assez reglees pour les 
moeurs." And page 103, " Leurs invectives contre le luxe, contre l'yv- 
rognerie, et contre incontinence avoient je ne scai quoi de pathetique." 

1S Life of Gerhard Roosen, p. 9. 

19 Geschiedenis der Doopsgezinden in Holland, etc., Ten Cate, p. 72. 



THE SETTLEHENT OF GERMA/NTOWiN. 




OLD FRIMT OF JOHN OF LEYDEN. 



The Mennonites, n 

used to extort confessions, and get information concern- 
ing the others of the sect. Ydse Gaukes gives, in a let- 
ter written to his brother from prison, a graphic descrip- 
tion of his own treatment. After telling that his hands 
were tied behind his back, he continues: "Then they 
drew me up about a foot from the ground and let me hang. 
I was in great pain, but I tried to be quiet. Nevertheless, 
I cried out three times, and then was silent. They said 
that is only child's flay, and letting me down again they 
put me on a stool, but asked me no questions, and said 
nothing to me. They fastened an iron bar to my feet with 
two chains, and hung on the bar three heavy weights. 
When they drew me up again a Spaniard tried to hit me 
in the face with a chain, but he could not reach ; while I 
was hanging I struggled hard, and got one foot through 
the chain, but then all the weight was on one leg. They 
tried to fasten it again, but I fought with all my strength. 
That made them all laugh, but I was in great pain." He 
was afterward burned to death by a slow fire at Deventer, 
in May, 1571. 20 Their meetings were held in secret places, 
often in the middle of the night, and in order to prevent 
possible exposure under the pressure of pain, they pur- 
posely avoided knowing the names of the brethren whom 
they met, and of the preachers who baptized them. 21 A re- 
ward of one hundred gold guilders was offered for Menno, 
malefactors were promised pardon if they should capture 
him, 22 Tjaert Ryndertz was put on the wheel in 1539 for 
having given him shelter, and a house in which his wife 
and children had rested, unknown to its owner, was confis- 



20 Van Braght's Blutige Schauplatz oder Martyrer Spiegel. Ephrata, 
1748, Vol. II., p. 632. 

21 Van Braght, Vol. II., p. 46S. 

22 A copy of the proclamation may be seen in Ten Cate's Geschiedenis 
der Doopsgezinden in Friesland, etc., p. 63. 



12 The Settlement of Germantown. 

cated. He was, as his followers fondly thought, miracu- 
lously protected, however, died peacefully in 1559, and 
was buried in his own cabbage garden. The natural re- 
sult of this persecution was much dispersion. The pros- 
perous communities at Hamburg and Altona were founded 
by refugees, the first Mennonites in Prussia fled there from 
the Netherlands, and others found their way up the Rhine. 23 
Crefeld is chiefly noted for its manufactories of silk, linen 
and other woven goods, and these manufactures were first 
established by persons fleeing from religious intolerance. 
From the Mennonites sprang the general Baptist churches 
of England, the first of them having an ecclesiastical con- 
nection with the parent societies in Holland, and their or- 
ganizers being Englishmen who, as has been discovered, 
were actual members of the Mennonite church at Amster- 
dam. 24 It was for the benefit of these Englishmen that the 
well-known Confession of Faith of Hans de Ries and 
Lubbert Gerriiz was written, 25 and according to the late 
Robert Barclay, whose valuable work bears every evi- 
dence of the most thorough and careful research, it was 
from association with these early Baptist teachers that 
George Fox, the founder of the Quakers, imbibed his 
views. Says Barclay : " We are compelled to view him 
as the unconscious exponent of the doctrine, practice, and 
discipline of the ancient and stricter party of the Dutch 

23 Life of Gerhard Roosen, p. 5. Reiswitz und Waldzeck, p. 19. 

24 Barclay's Religious Societies, pp. 72, 73, 95. 

25 The preface to that Confession, Amsterdam, 1686, says : " Ter cause, 
also daer eenige Engelsche uyt Engeland gevlucht ware, om de vryheyd 
der Religie alhier te genieten en alsoo sy een schriftelijcke confessie (van 
de voornoemde) hebben begeert, want veele van hare gheselschap inde 
Duvtsche Tale onervaren zijnde, het selfde niet en konde versteen ende 
als dare konde de ghene die de Tale beyde verstonde de andere onder- 
rechten, het welche oock nietonvruchtbaer en is ghebleven, want na over- 
legh der saecke zijn sy met de voernoemde Gemeente vereenight." 



A Noted Leader. 



13 




(pat Qc^wcncffdbes^on OffitiQ/Xiibtyobtv* 



N. Caspar- &CHwiy*£' * 
tL CKRISTOC 




_>AS ERASTCH TCTtRT IVWEltXSPOT 

DE^RHVET SANFttTRyE V SPAT SO SCHAJDET ER -DOCH NTT VJ> GOT 

ERIST GETROST IN AL1E' NOIT DERm BEHVET VC? FOXVN TOUT 

V& OB EH 5CHO"Hl£ 5XCICr W> VKD 5PEKT D^yOTSElMJDAVEL HI 

at- o~ CHOrT^- -i» «■ On- 



Contemporary portrait of Caspar Schwenckfeldt, A. D. 1556. 



1 4 The Settlement of Gcrmantown. 

Mennonites." 26 To the spread of Mennonite teachings in 
England we therefore owe the origin of the Quakers, and 
the settlement of Pennsylvania. The doctrine of the inner 
light was by no means a new one in Holland and Ger- 
many, and the dead letter of the Scriptures is a thought 
common to David Joris, Casper Schwenckfeldt, and the 
modern Quaker. The similarity between the two sects 
has been manifest to all observers, and recognized by 
themselves. William Penn, writing to James Logan of 
some emigrants in 1709, says: "Herewith comes the 
Palatines, whom use with tenderness and love, and fix 
them so that they may send over an agreeable character ; 
for they are sober people, divers Mennonists, and will 
neither swear nor fight. See that Guy has used them 
well." 27 Thomas Chalkley, writing from Holland the 
same year, says: "There is a great people which they 
call Mennonists who are very near to truth, and the fields 
are white unto harvest among that people spiritually speak- 
ing. 28 When Ames, 29 Caton, Stubbs, Penn, and others of 
the early Friends went to Holland and Germany, they 

were received with the 
utmost kindness by the 
Mennonites, which is in 
strong contrast with their 
treatment at the hands of 
the established churches. 
The strongest testimony of this character, however, is 
given by Thomas Story, the recorder of deeds in Pennsyl- 

26 P. 77. 

27 Penn Logan Correspondence, Vol. II., p. 354. 

28 Works of Thomas Chalkley, Phila., 1749, p. 70. 

29 William Ames, an accession to Quakerism from the Baptists, was the 
first to go to Holland and Germany, and it was he who first made the con- 
verts in Amsterdam and Kriegsheim. 




The Quakers. 15 

vania, who made a trip to Holland and Germany in 1715. 
There he preached in the Mennonite meeting houses at 
Hoorn, Holfert, Drachten, Goredyke, Hoerveen, Jever, 
Oudeboone, Grow, Leeuwarden, Dokkum and Henleven, 
while at Malkwara no meeting was held because " a Person 
of note among the Menists being departed this life," and 
none at Saardam because of "the chief of the Mennists 
being over at Amsterdam." These meetings were attended 
almost exclusively by Mennonites, and they entertained 
him at their houses. One of their preachers he described 
as " convinced of truth," and of another he says that after 
a discourse of several hours about religion they "had no 
difference." Jacob Nordyke, of Harlingen, a " Menist 
and friendly man," accompanied the party on their journey, 
and when the wagon broke down near Oudeboone he went 
ahead on foot to prepare a meeting. The climax of this 
staid good fellowship was capped, however, at Grow. Says 
Story in his journal: " Hemine Gosses, their preacher, 
came to us and taking me by the hand he embraced 
me and saluted me with several kisses, which I readily 
answered, for he expressed much satisfaction before the 
people, and received us gladly, inviting us to take a dish 
of tea with him. . . . He showed us his garden, and gave 
us his grapes of several kinds, but first of all a dram lest 
we should take cold after the exercise of the meeting," and 
" treated us as if he had been a Friend, from which he is 
not far, having been as tender as any at meeting." 

William Sewel, the historian, was a Mennonite, and it 
certainly was no accident that the first two Quaker histories 
were written in Holland. 30 It was among the Mennonites 



30 Sewel and Gerhard Croese. In my library is the copy of Burrough's 
works which Penn gave to Sewel's mother, containing also the autograph 
of Sewel. 



1 6 The Settlement of Germantown. 

they made their converts. 31 In fact, transition between the 
two sects both ways was easy. Quakers became members 
of the Mennonite church at Crefeld 32 and at Haarlem, 33 and 
in the reply which Peter Henrichs and Jacob Claus, of 
Amsterdam, made in 1679 to a pamphlet by Heinrich 
Kassel, a Mennonite preacher at Kriegsheim, they quote 
him as saying " that the so-called Quakers, especially here 
in the Palatinate, have fallen off and gone out from the 
Mennonites." 34 

These were the people who, some as Mennonites, 35 and 
others, perhaps as recently converted Quakers, after being 
unresistingly driven up and down the Rhine for a century 
and a half, were ready to come to the wilds of America. 
Of the six original purchasers Jacob Telner and Jacob 
Isaacs Van Bebber are known to have been members of 
the Mennonite Church; Govert Remke, 36 January 14, 
1686, sold his land to Dirck Sipman, and had little to do 
with the emigration ; Sipman selected as his attorneys here 
at various times Hermann Op den Graeff, Hendrick Sel- 
len, and Van Bebber, all of whom were Mennonites; and 
Jan Streypers was represented also by Sellen, was a cousin 
of the Op den Graeffs, and was the uncle of Hermannus 

31 Sewel, Barclay, Seidensticker. 

32 Life of Gerhard Roosen, p. 66. 

33 Story's Journal, p. 490. 

31 This valuable pamphlet is in the library of A. H. Cassel. 

35 In this connection the statement of Hortensius in his Histoire des 
Anabaptistes, Paris, 1695, is interesting. He says in the preface : " Car 
cette sorte de gens qu'on appelle aujourd hui Mennonites ou Anabaptists 
en Holande et ceux qui sont connus en Angleterre sous le nora de Koa- 
kres ou Trembleurs, qui sont partages en plus de cent sortes de Sectes, 
ne peuvent point conter d'autre origine que celle des Anabaptistes de Mun- 
ster quoi qu'a present ils se tiennent beaucoup plus en repos, et qu'ils 
n'ayent aucune ambition pour le governement ou l'administration des af- 
faires temporelles, et mesme que le port ou 1' usage detoute sortes d'armes 
soit entierement defendu parmi eux." 

36 Johann Remke was the Mennonite preacher at Crefeld in 1752. 



The Mcnnonites. 17 

and Arnold Kuster, two of the most active of the early 
Pennsylvania members of that sect. Of the emigrants 
Dirck, Hermann and Abraham Op den Graeff were Men- 
nonites, and were grandsons of Hermann Op den Graeff, 
the delegate from Crefeld to the Council which met at 
Dordrecht in 1632, and adopted a Confession of Faith. 37 
Many of the others, as we have seen, were connected 
with the Op den Graeff s by family ties. Jan Lensen was 
a member of the Mennonite Church here. Jan Lucken 
bears the same name as the engraver who illustrated the 
edition of Van Braght published in 1685, and others of 
the books of that church, and the Dutch Bible which he 
brought with him is a copy of the third edition of Nicolaes 
Biestkens, the first Bible published by the Mennonites. 38 
Lenart Arets, a follower of David Joris, was beheaded at 
Poeldyk in 1535. The name Tunes occurs frequently 
on the name lists of the Mennonite preachers about the 
time of this emigration, and Hermann Tunes was a mem- 
ber of the first church in Pennsylvania. 

This evidence, good as far as it goes, but not complete, 
is strengthened by the statements of Mennonite writers and 
others on both sides of the Atlantic. Roosen tells us 
" William Penn had in the year 1683 invited the Menno- 
nites to settle in Pennsylvania. Soon many from the Neth- 
erlands went over and settled in and about Germantown." 39 
Funk, in his account of the first church, says : " Upon an 
invitation from William Penn to our distressed forefathers in 
the faith it is said a number of them emigrated either from 



37 Scheuten genealogy in the possession of Miss Elizabeth Muller, of 
Crefeld. I am indebted for extracts from this valuable MS., which begins 
with the years 1562, to Frederick Muller, the celebrated antiquary and bib- 
liophile of Amsterdam. 

38 The Bible now belongs to Adam Lukens, of North Wales, Bucks Co., 
Pennsylvania. 

39 P. 60. 



1 8 The Settlement of Germantown. 

Holland or the Palatinate and settled in Germantown in 
1683, and there established the first church in America." 40 
Rupp asserts that, " In Europe they had been sorely per- 
secuted, and on the invitation of the liberal-minded Wil- 
liam Penn they transported themselves and families into 
the province of Pennsylvania as early as 1683. Those 
who came that year and in 1698 settled in and about Ger- 
mantown." 41 Says Haldeman : " Whether the first Tauf- 
gesinneten or Mennonites came from Holland or Switz- 
erland I have no certain information, but they came 
in the year 1683." 42 Richard Townsend, an eminent 
Quaker preacher, who came over in the Welcome, and 
settled a mile from Germantown, calls them a " religious 
good people," but he does not say they were Friends, as 
he probably would have done had the facts justified it. 43 
Abraham, Dirck, and Hermann Op den Graeff, Lenart 
Arets, Abraham Tunes and Jan Lensen were linen weav- 
ers, and in 1686 Jan Streypers wrote to his brother Willem 
inquiring " who wove my yarns, how many ells long, and 
how broad the cloth made from it, and through what fine- 
ness of comb it had been through." 44 

The pioneers had a pleasant voyage, and reached Phila- 
delphia on the 6th of October. In the language of Clay- 
poole, " The blessing of the Lord did attend us so that we 
had a very comfortable passage, and had our health all 
the way." 45 Unto Johannes Bleikers a son Peter was born 
while at sea. Cold weather was approaching, and they had 
little time to waste in idleness or curiosity. On the 12th of 
the same month a warrant was issued to Pastorius for six 

40 Mennonite Family Almanac for 1875. 
41 History of Berks County, p. 423. 
42 Geschichte der Gemeinde Gottes, p. 55. 
"Hazard's Register, Vol VI., 198. 
"Deeds, Streper MSS. 
45 Claypoole letter-book. 



Armcntown. 19 

thousand acres " on behalf of the German and Dutch pur- 
chasers " ; on the 24th Thomas Fairman measured off four- 
teen divisions of land, and the next day meeting together in 
the cave of Pastorius they drew lots for the choice of loca- 
tion. Under warrant five thousand three hundred and fifty 
acres were laid out May 2, 1684, " having been allotted and 
shared out by the said Daniel Pastorius, as trustee for them, 
and by their own consent to the German and Dutch pur- 
chasers after named, as their respective several and distinct 
dividends, whose names and quantities of the said land they 
and the said Daniel Pastorius did desire might be herein in- 
serted and set down, viz. : The first purchasers of Frankfort, 
Germany, Jacobus Van de Walle 535, Johan Jacob Schutz 
428, Johan Wilhelm Uberfeld 107, Daniel Behagel 356^, 
George Strauss 178^3, Jan Laurens 535, Abraham Hase- 
voet 53S, in all 2675 acres of land. The first purchasers 
of Crefeld, in Germany, Jacob Telner 989, Jan Streypers 
275, Dirck Sipman 588, Govert Remke 161, Lenert Arets 
'501, Jacob Isaacs 161, in all 2675 acres." In addition two 
hundred acres were laid out for Pastorius in his own right, 
and one hundred and fifty acres to Jurian Hartsfelder, a 
stray Dutchman or German, who had been a deputy sheriff 
under Andross in 1676, and who now cast his lot in with 
the settlers at Germantown. 46 

Immediately after the division in the cave of Pastorius 
they began to dig the cellars, and build the huts in which, 
not without much hardship, they spent the following win- 
ter. Thus commenced the settlement of Germantown. 
Pastorius tells us that some people making a pun upon the 
name called it Armentozvn, because of their lack of sup- 
plies, and adds, "it could not be described, nor would it 
be believed by coming generations in what want and need, 

46 Exemplification Record, Vol. I., p. 51. It is also said that Heinrich 
Frev was here before the landing of Penn. 



20 The Settlement of Germantown. 

and with what Christian contentment and persistent indus- 
try this Germantown-ship started." 47 Willem Streypers 
wrote over to his brother Jan on the 20th of 2d mo. 1684, 
that he was already on Jan's lot to clear and sow it and 
make a dwelling, but that there was nothing in hand, and 
he must have a year's provision, to which in due time Jan 

replied by sending a " Box with 3 combs, and 3 , and 

5 shirts and a small parcel with iron ware for a weaving 
stool," and telling him "to let Jan Lensen weave a piece 
of cloth to sell, and apply it to your use." In better spirits 
Willem wrote Oct. 22d, 1684: "I have been busy and 
made a brave dwelling house, and under it a cellar fit to 
live in, and have so much grain, such as Indian Corn and 
Buckwheat that this winter I shall be better off than I was 
last year." 48 



47 Seidensticker's Pastorius in the Deutsche Pioneer, Vol. II., p. 176. 
* s Streper MSS. 




Arms of the Netherlands. 




CHAPTER II. 
The Frankfort Land Company. 




Die Stadt Frankfurt. 



f^HERE was another force at 
\gj) work in Germany and Hol- 
land which had a conspicuous 
and important, though not a pri- 
mary, influence upon the settle- 
ment of Germantown. In 1670 
the celebrated Philip Jacob Spener, 
founder of the Pietists, established 
in the city of Frankfort a Collegia 
Pietatis, the object of which was 
to awaken a deeper and more heartfelt interest in religion 
by means of meetings of laymen for purposes of prayer and 
instruction. Among those who were brought within the 
sphere of this influence were Jacob Van de Wall, a mer- 
chant of Frankfort, to whom Neander dedicated his book of 
hymns ; Dr. Johann Jacob Schutz, a great friend of Neander 
and a jurist, who was born in 1640 and died in 1690, and 
who wrote the beautiful hymn " Sei Lob und Ehr dem hoch- 
sten Gut " : Johann William Ueberfeld, whom the church 
historian, Gotfried Arnold, designates as "brother Ueber- 
feld " ; Daniel Behagel, merchant in Frankfort ; Casper 
Merian, George Strauss, Abraham Hasevoet and Jan 

21 



22 



The Settlement of Germantozvn. 



Laurens, an intimate friend of Telner, who appears to 
have lived at Rotterdam. 49 In November, 1682, these eight 



JVYW 




men, all of them of influence and distinction, had discussed 
at their meetings in Frankfort the subject of the purchase 
of a tract of land in Pennsylvania and had concluded 




to make the venture. The motive which determined 
this action is no doubt expressed by Pastorius when he 

"MaxGoebePs Geschichte des Christlichen Lebens, Coblentz,i852, Vol. 
II., p. 324-326. 



THE SETTLEME/NT OF GERMA/NTOWN. 




atiw&rnt von uxxb oyMicriau 



Johanna Elcanora Von Mcrlau. 23 

says: "After I had sufficiently seen the European 
provinces and countries and the threatening movements of 
war and had taken to heart the dire changes and disturb- 
ances of the fatherland, I was impelled, through a special 
guidance from the Almighty, to go to Pennsylvania with 
the living hope that my own good, and that of my neigh- 
bor and the furthering of the honor of God, which is the 
chief point, would be advanced, since in Europe worldi- 
ness and sin increase from day to day and the just pun- 
ishment of God cannot be much longer delayed." 

Pastorius, who had been appointed their agent, bought 
for them when in London, between the 8th of May and the 
6th of June, 1683, fifteen thousand acres of land which 
later was increased to twenty-five thousand acres. Before 
November 12, 1686, Merian, Strauss, Hasevoet and Lau- 
rens had withdrawn and their interests had become vested 
in Pastorius, the celebrated Johanna Eleanora Von Merlau, 
Dr. Gerhard Von Mastricht, Dr. Thomas Von Wylich> 
Johannes Le Brun, Balthasar Jawert and Dr. Johannes 
Kemler. 

Johanna Eleanora Von Merlau was born at Frankfort in 
1644, of a noble and distinguished family. She was in- 
clined to religious thought and mysticism and early in life 
began to have dreams and see visions. When she was 
four years of age her parents, in order to escape the wars 
and rumors of war, had temporarily gone to Philipseck 
near Hettersheim. One day when her mother had been 
left with the three children, an older sister aged seven, 
Eleanora and an infant, suddenly the servants came with 
the cry that a troop of horse were upon them. The mother 
with the babe in her arms and the tots by her side, walked 
to Frankfort with the shouts of the soldiers and the shots 
of firearms resounding about her. When she reached a 



24 The Settlement of Germantoivn. 

place of safety she fell upon her knees and gave thanks to 
God, whereupon the sister of seven years exclaimed : 
"What is the use of praying now, they cannot get at us 
any more." 

When Eleanora was ten years old she asked permission 
to go to church to see her sister instructed in the mysteries 
of the Lord's Supper, and after she had seen it the devil 
put it into the head of some wicked person to accuse her 
of having said that if she could get hold of the cup she 
would drink the whole of it, as though she were fond of 




wine. In her twelfth year she was taken to court to the 
Countess von Salms-Redelheim and in her fifteenth year 
to the wife of the Hertzog von Hollenstein, Countess of 
Hesse, who upon her first marriage became a princess. In 
her eighteenth year, in 1662, she saw in a dream in great 
golden figures upon the heavens " 1685," which forecasted 
the disturbances and persecutions in France and also the 
secret of the Millennium which in that year was disclosed to 
her. She was married by Dr. Spener, September 17, 1680, 
at Frankfort, in the presence of her father, the Princess of 
Philipseck and thirty other persons, to one beneath her in 
rank, Dr. Johann Wilhelm Petersen, professor at Ros- 
tock, preacher at the church of St. Egidius in Hanover, 



THE SETTLEHE/NT OF CERHA/NTOW/N. 




ff| 'tcrfcn 



Johanna Eleanora Von Mcrlan 

§er|en 



25 







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Holjanna Uleonora 

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verRt&t Prof. Prim. 

%n\zv>o lumanbetrimahl Q&vudtunbmlt 
VicUn fcb&ncn2Uipffcrn getferet. 



26 



The Settlement of Germantown. 



letiti 




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bctracfrtet miro/ 
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furtjUcfc entworffen ifl/ 

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gcte&rnm wn utft ju SJtfttau. 



Sramffurt uifcfirtpi.fl: jttfW6mto3^«n2*» wswWteI " lft * 



Frankfort Land Company. 



27 



bishop's superintendent at Lubeck, chief preacher and 
superintendent at Luneberg, and the author of one hun- 
dred and sixty books and pamphlets. Together they were 
among the founders of the Philadelphia Society at Berle- 




burg, where later was published the " Geistliche Fama," 
containing so much information concerning early Pennsyl- 
vania. Their lives, with portraits, a book now so rare 
that Max Goebel, the learned author of the exhaustive 
history of the religious life along the Rhine, was never 
able to see a copy, appeared in 1717. 50 She was the author 
among other works of " Herzens-Gesprach mitt Gott," 
i2mo, 1694, and " Anleitung zu griindlicher Verstandniss 
der Heiligen Offenbahrung Jesu Christi," folio, 1696. 

Dr. Thomas von Wylich was Secretary or Recorder of 
the city of Wesel and we are told that after forty years 
his good name there was still like a " plenteous balsam in 
fragrance." 51 Johannes Le Brun was a business man in 
Frankfort, one of those to whom Neander dedicated his 
hymn book, and Johannes Kemler was rector at Oldenslo 



50 The foregoing incidents of her life are taken from my copy of this 
autobiography. 

51 Goebel, Vol. II., p. 326. 



28 The Settlement of Germantown. 

and at Lubeck. Daniel Behagel, grandson of Jacob Be- 
hagel, was born at Hanau, November 18, 1625, and married 
at Muhlheim, May 20, 1654, Magdalena van Mastricht. 
Together with his brother-in-law, Jacob van de Wall, he 
in 1661 established the manufacture of faience at Frank- 
fort. 52 Of the eleven persons interested five lived in Frank- 
fort, two in Wesel, two in Lubeck and one in Duisburg. 
It was originally their intention to come to Pennsylvania, 
but, much to the regret of Pastorius, who complained 
loudly of their change of plan, this purpose was abandoned 
and the company formed later became only a seller of lands 
to the settlers whom other influences brought here, and a 
commercial undertaking. The twenty-five thousand acres 
of land bought by him constituted the most extensive sin- 
gle sale made by Penn in the settlement of his province. 





On the 2d of April, 1685, Van de Wall, Petersen and his 
wife, Behagel, Schutz and Merian gave the following 
power of attorney to Pastorius : 

" At all times and in all things the Lord be praised : 
"When as Francis Daniel Pastorius, U. J. Licent'us, a 
German of Winsheim in Franckenland, did signify his In- 
clination to travel towards Pennsylvania, viz., that Prov- 
ince in America which heretofore was called New Neth- 

52 Notes of Henry S. Dotterer. 



Frankfort Land Company. 



29 



erland, Jacob van de Wallen of Francfort, Merchant, for 
himself and as attorney of John Wilhelm Petersen, of Lu- 
beck, and of his wife Johanna Eleanora van Merlau, as 
also Johann Jacob Schutz of Francfort, U. J. Licent'us, 
and Daniel Behagel and Caspar Merian of Francfort, 




/^^^^^^^ 




Merchants, have trusted and Comited unto him the care 
& Administration of all their Estate, lands and Rights 
which they lawfully obtained there of William Penn, Gov- 
ern'r in that part So that the said Pastorius, in the Name 
of the Constituents, shall receive and Conserve in the best 
form of Law the things themselves, the Possession thereof 
and other rights : Order the tillage of the ground and what 
belongs to husbandry there according to his best diligence, 
hire Labourers, grant part of the land to others, take the 
yearly Revenues or Rents ; and shall and may do all what 
the Owners may do in administration, nevertheless all 
sorts of alienation and mortgaging excepted. 



30 The Settlement of Germantown. 

" To this end a certain sum of money has been delivered 
to his trusty hands : Of all which he shall and will yearly 
give an account to the Constituents or their Heirs ; but 
the Constituents will not be obliged to any man by all his 
doings and Contracts : What will be reasonable shall be 
assigned unto him out of the expected Incomes or Rents 
in Pennsylvania. 

" This being thus done hath been subscribed by the Par- 
ties own hands, Confirmed by Publick authority and Com- 
mitted to divine blessing in Francfort on Mayn, a free city 
of the German Empire, in the year .of Christ, according to 
vulgar account, 1683, tne 2( ^ day of the 2d month com- 
monly called April. 

"Jacobus Van de Walle, 
For myself, and as attorney for John Wm. 
Petersen and his wife Eleonora van Merlau. 

" Daniel Behagel. 

"John Jacob Schutz. 

" Casper Merian. 

"Francis Daniel Pastorius." 

Another power of attorney was given to Pastorius dated 
May 5th, 1683, which though not extant was probably of 
the same purport, executed by Strauss, Hasevoet and 
Laurens, then interested in the purchase. On the nth of 
July, 1683, Johan Wilhelm Ueberfeld sold his one thousand 
acres to Pastorius. The latter, who the same year came 
to Germantown, wrote on the 14th day of November, 
1685, t0 Van de Wall, Schutz, Behagel and Petersen 
" that in case they would not free me of my promise in 
their Letter of Attorney, viz., to be accountable to the 
Constituents and their Heirs I was not at all able or will- 
ing so to do, but must lay down mine administration ; for 
as much as they in like manner promised me to follow me 
to this Province the next ensuing year after my departure 
out of Germany, the which was not performed by them ; 
Wherefore I expect an answer from all whether they would 
release unto me the sd mine obligation or not. 53 

53 Pastorius MSS. 



Frankfort Land Company. 31 

To this request Schutz, with the approval of Petersen and 
wife, Van de Wall and Behagel, wrote June 30, 1686 : 

" Dear Brother: We thank God for thy joyful Recov- 
ery and Preservation of all the rest ; Putting in so much 
no distrust at all in thy Fidelity and Diligence that we, 
especially I for mine own person, do approve thine ac- 
counts unseen : Nevertheless in case it is not against thee, 
only for a nearer advice sake to send such accounts over : 
at least to make no ill Precedent to any future successor 
whom perhaps we dare not fully trust without all care : It 
will be very pleasing to, and not against us, to approve 
them in optima forma." 

An agreement forming what became known as the 
Frankfort Land Company and fixing the terms upon which 
its business should be conducted was executed November 
12, 1686. Two printed copies of this agreement with the 
autographs, seals and coats-of-arms of each of the signers 
still exist and they are both in Philadelphia. That which 
was among the papers of William Penn now belongs to 
me and the other was recently purchased by the Historical 
Society of Pennsylvania, for two hundred dollars. At this 
time the owners were : 

Acres. 

Jacob Van de Wallen 2500 

Caspar Merian, now Jacob Van de Wallen §33/4 

Daniel Behagel 1666% 

Johan Jacob Schutz 4000 

Johan Wilhelm Uberfeld, now Francis Daniel Pastorius . 1000 

Jacob Van de Wallen 1666% 

George Strauss, now Johanna Eleonora von Merlau, wife 

of Johan Win. Peterson 1666% 

Daniel Behagel 1666% 

D. Gerhard von Mastricht 1666% 

D. Thomas von Wylich 1666^ 

Johannes Le Brun 1666% 

Balthasar Jawert 3333K 

Johannes Kemler 1666% 



32 The Settlement of Germantown. 

The agreement provided : 

" The above said lands, wherever they are or hereafter 
shall be Assign'd Jointly and asunder, as also the Lots in 
the City, which over and above the aforementioned belong 
unto us, to wit, four or six places in the City of Philadel- 
phia, for to build new houses upon, and a matter of 300 
Acres in the Cities Liberty Situate before and about Phila- 
delphia ; And the land, which of late hath been bought 
upon the Skulkill for a Brick-kiln, together with all and 
every Edifices and other Improvements, which now are 
and hereafter in any place and quarter of all Pensilvania, 




0a0*£# J*m&t~fll 




and also Victuals, Commodities, Cattle, household stuff and 
which we have sent thither, or bought or otherwise acquired 
there ; and the present and future Real Rights and Privi- 
leges shall now and hereafter be and remain Comon in 
Equal Right according to Every One's above specified 
Share which he hath in the said Company. 

"2. All and every Expenses for the Cultivating, Im- 
provement and Buildings ; Item for transporting of Ser- 
vants, Tenants and other persons, as also Commodities, 
Victuals, tools, &c, and there in the sd Province for 
Tradesmen & labourers, &c, and universally all Charges 
of what Name soever, which hitherto have been spent in 
America and Europe, or hereafter at the next mentioned 
manner may be spent, shall be at Comon Costs after the 
rate of Every Ones Share. 



a e ts 
i~ ^ <s 




e •*§.*• 

3 a 

S3 « 

5S jj tS 



Frankfoi't Land Company. 33: 

"3. Per Contra all Profits, Revenues and whatsoever 
there is got, built, planted, tilled and brought forth, either 
in products of the Ground, Slaves, Cattle, manufactures 
&c, nothing at all Excepted, shall be Comon among all 
the Partners pro rata of the number of Acres. 

"4. Concerning the Affairs of this Company, the five 
head-stems, every 5000 to be accounted for a head-stem, 
or as hereafter it may be otherwise Agreed upon, shall 
Consult among themselves, and by the Plurality of Votes 
(each thousand Acres having ten votes), conclude with 
all Convenient Speed. 

"5. There in the s'd Province there shall be always an 
Attorney for the Company, and in case of his decease, 
Absence & Unableness a Substitute be appointed unto him 
with a Salary in writing Executed by both Parties. Both 
these shall yearly, under both their hands and the Com- 
pany's Seal, make an Orderly Inventory of all the Com- 
panies effects there, Specifying the Cultivated and uncul- 
tivated Acres, meadows, waters, woods, houses, the bounds 
thereof, as also the Servants, Tenants, Cattel, fruits, 
Victuals, Comodities, debts Active and Passive, ready 
money, etc., and send the same over with their Accounts 
of Costs & Profits, Receipt & Disbursement, Decrease and 
Increase in all particulars, by one and another following 
Vessel with a second Original, and likewise in manner 
aforesaid Communicate the State of things to him, unto 
whom at that time the Correspondency of the Company 
shall be Committed. 

" 6. Here in these parts there shall be always Ordained 
by the plurality of Votes in Writing two Clerks of the 
Company, either of the Companions or Strangers, who 
shall attend the Companies Accounts & Correspondency 
in America ; Open the letters which belong to them and 
Communicate the Contents thereof by way of Extract, or 
if need be a Copy to the head-Stems, by and from whom 
further all and every Partners are to receive, do & per- 
form theirs, write down with short words yet Clearly & 
diligently in a Diary of the Pennsylvanian affairs out of the 
letters Coming from thence or the Occurrencies happening 



34 The Settlement of Germantoivfi. 

here ; make peculiar memorandums of what is to be done 
& Observed ; Adjust every year ultimo Decembris the Ac- 
counts, together with the Revision of Inventories, and the 
Annotation of Increase & Decrease by Day and Date, as 
far as may be had by Letters or otherwise, and being ap- 
proved by the five head-Stems or their Attornies, Record 
them in a Book, and keep them under two Locks, in good 
Order according to their Table or Index, together with 
the Companies Documents and Original Writings, ascrib- 
ing Day & Date, as also the Copies of the Letters which 
they send away in a Certain Place as the Company 
Pleaseth, and now for the present time at Francfort upon 
the Mayn, where this work did first begin, and whereunto 
as yet the greatest part doth belong, and in all without the 
special consent of the five head-Stems not undertake or 
dispatch anything of Importance. Further they shall en- 




joy^for all their labour some moderate Recompense from 
the Company ; Moreover each head-Stem may for himself 
& the Partners thereunto belonging extract out of such let- 
ters what he pleaseth ; but the Originals shall be kept in 
the Archives. 

"7. Hereafter the Company shall sign their letters & 
Contracts with a peculiar Seal to be kept along with the 
aforesaid Original Documents ; and shall send another 



Frankfort Land Company. 35 

Seal somewhat different in Bigness & Circumscription to 
their factors in Pennsilvania there to make the like use 
thereof. Without such Seal no Letters or Contracts shall 
be sent in the Companies Name thither or hither, nor be 
esteemed firm & good. 

"8. In case any of us, or our heirs, should go to Pensil- 
vania, or send an Attorney for himself aforehand to pre- 
pare him a Settlement and would give him or take along 
with himself, several proper things for his use, he or they 
may do the same at their own Costs and Riske ; After- 
wards, after the rate of his share for every thousand Acres, 
chuse for himself Sixty in one tract of uncleared land, So 
as we received the same of the Governr. And therefor 
he shall pay yearly a Recognition as Rent to the Company 
for every ten Acres One English Shilling : And if this 
land be not enough, but too narrow for him, there shall 
be further allowed unto him, proportionately to his share, 
60 acres as aforesaid in consideration of each thousand for 
the Moiety of the Price for wch the Company useth to Let 
at that time upon Rent unto Strangers ; And in case he 
should still desire more land, if the Company can spare it, 
at the price & on such Conditions as to a Stranger. Now 
upon these lands which one or the other settleth for him- 
self alone in manner aforesd, he may act at his pleasure 
and use & enjoy all sorts of goods immoveable & moveable 
which we have in Comon there before other Strangers, 
Nevertheless that all this be unprejudicial to the Comon 
best of the Company. And those Companies which dwell 
in Pennsilvania shall pay the usual Rent, Wages, Payment, 
or Value, of all what they use of the Comon things for them- 
selves to the Companies Factors there, whereof they are 
at the following Reparation to receive back their share. 
But if the whole Company do generally find good to let 
go over any of their Companions for their Comon Service 
and at their Comon Costs, there shall in that case be made 
a particular Agreement. But in every Case in all parts 
whatsoever the Companies there & their heirs shall be 
Obliged no less than those in Europe to stand to this Con- 
tract and to the further orders of the most votes. 



36 The Settlement of Germantown. 

"9. If the Clerks or else one or more by the Companies 
approbation as aforesaid should disburse money, such 
debtors shall be obliged to repay the thus disbursed princi- 
pal Sum at the utmost within the space of one year with 




the Yearly Interest of five per Cent, and therefor their share 
shall hereby in the best form of Law be engaged as a 
Special Pledge. 

" 10. If any of us or Ours soon or late shall Dye without 
wife & heir begotten in matrimony of his body, not having 
expressly & particularly declared by Testament, or other 
credible Disposition in Writing, or by word of mouth, what 
he would have done with his share of these Comon goods 
after his decease, his share shall accrue and be herewith 
assignd to the whole Company proportionably to each 
respective share, and shall not be otherwise accounted than 
as if he had reserved to himself only the use of such goods 
for the term of his life, and presently in the beginning In- 
corporated the true Property to the Company. And all 
deceases of the Companions, and who are their heirs in this 
work, shall by the Clerks then being in credible form 
under the attestation of all the nearest relations of the De- 
ceased, or of other credible persons be advised with all 
speed, Or until the Certainty thereof the Name of the 
Deceased be continued in Accounts & Books, And his Con- 
tingent wc'h falls to him be kept in the Companies Case 
along with the Original Documents. 



Frankfort Land Company . 37 

"11. It's not lawful for any that is a Partner in this Com- 
pany to alien his land or right thereof, all or in part, to 
any without the Company, unless he have the Companies 
Consent, or at least made the first Offer to the same ; But 
if one or other of us, our Wives, Children or whoever shall 
be hereafter a Partner of the Company, should be willing 
soon or late to alienate his Share or Portion, and none of 
the Company to Acquire or buy the Same, then and not 
otherwise the Seller shall have liberty to sell it to any 
other ; yet with this Proviso, that always the Company, or 
if they will not have it, any of the Company, within three 
months after the Alienation is made known, shall have 
liberty to take to themselves that what is sold, paying down 
the consideration money, and for their profit to deduct or 
give less than such new Purchaser bought the part alien'd 
for Ten per Cent, of the Consideration Money, the Price 
whereof both Seller & Buyer shall be obliged to declare 
upon their Conscience. 

"12. In Case, which we do not expect, be it soon or late, 
there should happen any misunderstanding or Cause of 
Contention between us, Our Heirs & Successors, Concern- 
ing these Goods & what thereon doth depend, the same 
shall be determined among the members of the Company, 
Or if both parties do not account them wholly Impartial by 
other than two honest Persons unanimously Chosen by the 
differing parties, And these two Chosen Persons shall have 
power to take unto them a third, if they think it necessary, 
in form & manner hereafter described, vizt. the chosen 
Arbitrators on an appointed day & place, in the presence 
of the differing parties or their Attornies, after the Invoca- 
tion of Divine Assistance and ripe Consideration of the 
matter, shall determine the business by their award accord- 
ing to their best knowledge & Sentiment, in case they can- 
not bring the parties to a Composition ; But if these three 
cannot agree, or find out the most votes, they shall send 
for advice to one or two of the head-Partners, and then 
Conceive and pronounce their Award ; To the Contrary 
whereof afterwards in no manner or ways any thing shall 
be done, acted or admitted by Right or Force of no Judge 



38 The Settlement of Germantown. 

or Man in the whole world in Europe or America ; And if 
any should presume to oppose himself hereunto, eo ipso 
for by so doing, he shall forfeit his whole share and be- 
sides pay a fine of 200 rix Dollars to the publick Almonery 
(or to the poor) ipso facto without any exception or further 
declaration. 

" All faithfully and without Covin. In true witness this 
present Contract, to which all Partners after a ripe Con- 
sideration did unanimously Consent, is twelve times under 
all & every ones own hand & Seal set forth, and an Ex- 
emplar thereof delivered to each, and one laid up with the 
Comon Documents. 

" Given at Francfort upon Mayn the 12th November 
Anno 1686." 

Pastorius, though with apparent reluctance, continued 
as the agent of the company to look after its interests until 
some time in the year 1700. On the 24th of January of 
that year Catharina Schutz, widow, the widow of Jacob 
Van de Wall, the heirs of Daniel Behagel, Johannes 
Kemler, Balthasar Jawert, Joh. Wilhelm Petersen, Ger- 
hard von Mastricht, Johan Le Brun, and Maria Van de 
Wall, widow of Thomas Von Wylich, united in executing 
a power of attorney which set out that "because of the 
death of some heads of the sd Company & the Interrup- 
tion of the French Warr, as also chiefly because of the ab- 
sence of the Governor & the Indisposition of the sd our 
Factor, these our affairs in the sd Province are come to a 
stop, the more mentioned Mr. Pastorius having also de- 
sired by & in several of his Letters to be discharged" there 
was conferred full power and authority on "Mr. Daniel 
Falkner & Johannes Kelpius, as Inhabitants for the present 
in Pennsilvania, as also on Mr. Johannes Jawert, the son 
of one of our principals by name Mr. Balthasar Jawert of 
Lubeck, who hath resolved to transport himself thither." 



Letter of Attorney. 



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The Settlement of Germantown. 



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42 The Settlement of Gei'mantozvn . 

The three attorneys "Jointly or in case of the Death of 
one or the other they or he who remains" were to have the 
administration of all the goods and lands, city lots, "the 
land bought by the Schuylkill for a brick-kiln," to take an 
account from Pastorius, if any lands had been sold without 
their knowledge to " vindicate them" and to sell and make 
deeds. "Lastly we grant unto them herewith special 
power to appropriate fifty acres of our land in German- 
town for the benefit of a schoolmaster, that the youth in 
reading writing & in good manners & education without 
partial admonishing to God and Christ may be brought 
up and instructed." 54 

On the first of March, 1700 (this date may be 1708), 
Catharine Elizabeth Schutz, widow, made a deed of gift 
certifying that "of a well Considered mind willingly and 
of my accord ... I have given as a free Gift or 
Present my whole Proportion or share of the 25000 acres 
of land purchased in Pensilvania — towit 4000 acres the 
wch my aforesd husband deceased hath bought of my own 
money, — unto some pious families and Persons who are 
already in Pensilvania, or Intend to go thither this year, 
as likewise unto such that shall follow them in time to Come, 
among whom Mr. Daniel Falkner, who hath settled there 
already, & Mr. Arnold Stork who dwells at present at 
Duisburg but will shortly transport himself, shall be con- 
stituted and appointed as Attornies, as well for themselves 
& their families to take part thereof, as also according to 
their good Pleasure & Conscience to Cause to participate 
other pious families, especially the widows among the same, 
viz : widow Zimmermans & other two widows with their 
children being of Duisburg." And she added "For as 
much as I also understand that George Muller of Freder- 



54 The original of this power of attorney now belongs to me. 



Frankfort Land Company . 43 

ickstadt is resolved to transport himself with his family into 
Pennsylvania my will is that he with his shall be one par- 
ticipant in this Donation." 55 

Pastorius says that in August, 1700, Daniel Falkner and 
Johannes Jawert having arrived they began, with Kelpius, 
to administer the affairs of the company, and that he de- 
livered up to them the land, house, barn, stable, corn in 
and above the ground, cattle, household goods, utensils 
and two hundred and thirty pounds of arrears of rent, but 
that soon after Kelpius declined to act and Daniel Falkner 
" Plaid the Sot, making Bonefires of the company's flax in 
open street, giving a Piece of eight to one Boy to show him 
in his drunken Fit a house in Philada, and to another a bit 
to light him his Pipe, &c. In so much that his Fellow 
Attorney, Johannes Jawert, affixed an advertisement to the 
Meeting house at Germantown that nobody should pay any 
rent or other Debt due to the Company unto the sd Falkner. 
Yea, and the then Bailif and Burgesses of the Germantown 
corporation acquainted the sd Company of the ill Adminis- 
tration of this their attorney here in a letter which as they 
afterwards did hear miscarried." 56 

Kelpius executed the following paper witnessed by God- 
fried Seelig and Joh. Hendrick Sprogell : 

"Whereas, upon recommendation of Mr. Daniel Falk- 
ner, the Frankfort Society hath made me ye subscribed 
their Plenipotentiary, together with the said Mr. Falkner 
& John Jawert, But my Circumstances not permitting to 
entangle myself in the like affairs I do Confess herewith 
that I do deliver all the authority, which is given unto me 
in the Letter of Attorney, to the said Society & him who 
did recommend me to the same, towit, Mr. Daniel Falk- 

65 Pastorius MSS. 
56 Pastorius MSS. 



44 The Settlement of Germantown. 

ner, for to act & prosecute the Case of the said Society 
without me with Johan Jawert upon their account accord- 
ing to the Letter of Attorney who attributes to one or two 
as much power as to three in Case of a natural or Civil 
Death." 57 Jawert and Falkner on March 20th, 1705, sub- 
stituted and appointed George Lowther, an attorney at 
law in Philadelphia, the attorney in fact for the constitu- 
ents. Lowther acted under the power because, on the 
26th day of March, 1706, he gave notice to the tenants 
and other debtors to meet him on Friday, the 5th of April, 
at the house of Joseph Coulson in Germantown. 

Meanwhile, in consequence of the notice given at the 
meeting house in Germantown on the 9th of November, 
1705, by Jawert, no one would buy lands from Falkner, 
and the affairs remained in statu quo until the arrival in 
Pennsylvania of John Henry Sprogell, the witness to the 

renunciation of Kel- 

tfo/vk fyervh* fprvrjc# . P ius - Pastorius as " 

\S ( / aZ—^ serts that Sprogell, 

" A cunning and 
fraudulent fellow, as appears by several letters sent from 
Holland after him, arrived in this Province, who one time 
would say that his father had some Interest in the Franc- 
fort Company, which is utterly false ; and another time that 
he bought the Companies estate of Gerhard van Mastricht 
and the rest when in Germany and that the French took 
away his writings ; which is no more true than the former. 
For after he was taken, he still for some weeks did lye in 
Holland, and so might either have had other deeds from 
them, or at least a letter from any of them to signify unto 
their attornies here that he bought the land, which he 
never bought one acre of, as since the said Van Mastricht 
did write." 
57 Ibid. 



Frankfort Land Company. 45 

It appears that Falkner had some kind of a writing, 
under which he claimed the right to act alone for the com- 
pany, because Pastorius says in opposition to it that it was 
a mere declaration signed by but two of the company and 
they the youngest, that it did not attempt to revoke the 
prior power given to the three attorneys, and that when 
Lowther presented it on behalf of Falkner to the court at 
Germantown and asked to have it recorded, the court re- 
fused upon the ground that it must be proved by two wit- 
nesses. Thereupon, Falkner, being over head and ears 
in debt, and having failed to sell under this authority, 
united with Sprogell and made a friend of David Lloyd by 
giving to him a thousand acres of land which belonged to 
Benjamin Furly, of Rotterdam. 58 Lloyd suggested an 
action of ejectment based upon the claim of Sprogell, and 
in which there could be a recovery by arrangement with 
Falkner acting as attorney for the company, and it is as- 
serted by Pastorius that it was carried forward to judgment 
without notice to him, Jawert, or any one else interested 
in behalf of the compamr. He further complains : " And 
many honest men in high and low Germany, who are sin- 
cerely inclined to truth, Peace, Righteousness & Chris- 
tianity, would not be occasioned to think so strange of this 
the Pennsylvanian Lawyers Way of Ejectment sine die ; 
especially when they hear that one called a Qjiaker had a 
hand in it ; and the sd Pastorius might at least have ob- 
tained somewhat of a salary for his Service done unto the 
sd Company Seventeen Years and a half, and what he dis- 
bursed of his own during that time. Now the Company 
being thus miserably dispossessed of their Estate, as afore- 
mentioned, the sd Pastorius one with Arnold Cassel went 
to David Lloyd, and Complaining of the Wrong, also de- 



58 Pastorius MSS. Phcenixville now stands upon this land. 



46 The Settlement of Germantozvfi. 

sired his Advice, presented him a small fee, which he re- 
fused to take ; but told him that he the sd Pastorius & 
Johannes Jawert were not included in the Ejectment, which 
they knew already. And when the sd Pastorius further 
asked the sd David Lloyd what was best for him to do? 
David drawing his shoulders told him that his land (viz., 
the 1000 acres) was Involved in that of the Company, and 
that he must seek for it at Sprogels, which Counsel the sd 
Pastorius scrupled to embrace." 59 

In these proceedings and in the manner indicated a judg- 
ment in ejectment was obtained in favor of the plaintiff, 
execution was issued and possession given. 

Sprogell immediately began to cut the timber. On the 
1st of March, 1708-9 Pastorius and Jawert presented peti- 
tions to the Governor and Council. Pastorius says that 
Sprogell " thro the contrivance or Ploting of Daniel Falk- 
ner, in ye last adjourned Court held for the County of Phil- 
ada, the 15th of January, by means of Fictio juris as they 
term it (wherewith your petitioner is altogether unac- 
quainted) hath gott a writt of Ejectmt, wch it doth not effect 
your petitioner, yet the said Sprogel would have Ejected him 
out of his home," and that Sprogell " gott the said Writt of 
Ejectmt, so as to finish this his Contrivance in the County 
Court, to be held third day of the next month, between 
wch and the former no Provincial Court doth intervene for 
a Writt of Error, & hath further feed or retain'd the four 
known lawyers of this Province, in order to deprive as 
well your Petitr., as likewise Johannes Jawert of all ad- 
vice in law, wch sufficiently argues his cause to be none of 
the best." 

Jawert says in his petition that Sprogell " upon his arrival 
from Holland first told your Petitr. that he had bought ye 



59 Pastorius MSS. 



Ejectment Suit. 47 

said Estate of those persons residing in Germany, but after- 
wards denying it, again preferred to buy ye same of your 
Petitr., who is a partner thereof, and his joynt attorney, 
Danll Falkner, and when your Petitr. could not accept of 
his terms, he offering a very inconsiderable sum, then he 
promised one hundred pounds to your Petitr. gratis, or to 
put up for himself ; but your Petitr. not willing to betray 
his trust, broke off ; and so before he was aware & with- 
out ye least of his knowledge said Sprogel . . . ejected 
the said Germans out of ye said their estate . . . and 
besides he, ye said Sprogel & Falkner, to make this their 
abominable plott to bear, did fee all the know r n attornies, 
or Lawyers, of this Province, either to speak for ym, or to 
be silent in Court, in order to deprive your Petitr. of all 
advice in law, even so much as to find none to signify this, 
your Petitioners complaint, or to draw a Peticon to your 
Honour and Council in due form in our English method." 60 

The clerk of the council says that the attempt was so 
heinous that it was scarcely considered credible. The 
petitioners were called in and examined, and it then ap- 
peared that " David Lloyd was principal agent & Contriver 
of the whole, and it was affirmed that he had for his pay 
a thousand acres of Benjamin Furley's land which he the 
said Benjamin was so weak as to intrust to Sprogel with 
the disposal of." It was ordered that " notice be given by 
all Conveyances that may be to the Frankfort Society of 
Purchasers yt they forthwith send full powers to reverse ye 
judgment according to law." 61 

So far as we know the judgment was never reversed and 
Sprogell retained possession. In 17 13 Jawert presented 
the matter to the Friends' meeting doubtless for the purpose 

60 Colonial Records, Vol. II., p. 430. 

61 Colonial Records, Vol. II., p. 432. 



48 The Settlement of Germantozvn. 

of having some condemnation visited by them upon David 
Lloyd. Fortunately we have this communication which 
says : 

" To the Monthly Meeting of those whom the world calls 
Quakers, at Philadelphia : 

" Honorable Respected Friends : I have been informed 
by my Friend Pastorius that you desire to let you know the 
proceedings agt the Francfort Company, which Company 
every member of it have always bore a great respect & 
love to those wch the world calls Qj*s for good but will 
take it very strange, to be used as they have been, in their 
Country & under their Govermt. Not that I can say or 
suppose that any of the real friends which fear God have 
had any hand in it, neither can I blame the honorable 
Court that was at that time, they were ignorant of the 
matter ! But I must blame one of your friends, as he calls 
himself, David Lloyd, to take such dirty cause in hand for 
the lucre of some great reward. Respected friends, to tell 
you first by what power daniel Falkner did that wicked 
act he hath none at all, not so much as to sell one foot 
of the Companies land without my consent, which will ap- 
pear by the letter of Attorney of which friend Pastorius has 
a Copie. But it seems falkner by the advice of abovsd 
friend D. L. produced a letter of one of the Company in 
Court, when they was just breaking up, which impowers 
him, to sell the land as he says. If this letter was a true 
letter it could impower him no more as if any stranger had 
impowered him because of the agreement between all the 
members of the Company to act or do nothing without the 
Consent & knowledge of all the members, of which I and 
Pastorius are 2, much lesser to sell all their land by ONE'S 
order. When this wicked plot was contrived by them two 
Children of darkness, Daniel Falkner and Sprogel, they 
knew well enough that they could do nothing honestly 
without my consent, as one of the chief owners & attourney 
for the said company. Now to get me in, & save the 
money they saw they must give the lawyers, abovesd 
Sprogel came to my house and offered some small sum of 



Letter of Jaivert. 49 

money for the land to wch I could not consent. So Sprogel 
seeing that would not do offered me hundred pounds for a 
bribe, of wch the rest of the company should not know, 
besides my share in the land. But I told him that I rather 
would loose all my land than betray my trust. Seeing now 
that their wicked design would not prevail with me they 
sett david to work, without doubt he was well paid for it, 
(for which I understand friend furly suffers). David 
Uoyd willing that his brethren should have a share in the 
buty, or else would not be seen to act alone, getts two 
more. Macnemary had but two periwicks, worth about 
ten pounds, for his fee as he told me himself. Now when 
it was concluded among them to fullfil their design they 
thought the fittest time when the Court was breaking up. 
According they did. But Mr. Clark being there which 
had had no share yet thought it very strange that such a 
weighty business should be called at the breaking up of 
the Court, asked what it was. David Lloyd finding Clark 
inquiring very earnestly in the matter, for fear their wicked 
design should be discovered, said "Thorn, hold thy 
tongue, thou shalt have fourty shillings " And so it was 
done. When friend Pastorius gave me notice of this I 
went directly up to Philadelphia and going to the Lawyers 
found all their tongues bound, was therefore obliged to 
petition the Governor & Council to allow one Lawyer, 
which was Clark, who had only a promise of fourty shill- 
ings, but not received the same. But could not untie his 
tongue before I gave him tenn pounds ready down in sil- 
ver & gold. For which ten pounds & other fast expenses 
I had not so much good as I had of a pott good beer & a 
penny roll. Friend Pastorius & Caspar Hood can tell 
more of it. But hope that the Lord that is the right Judge 
will not suffer such wickedness, but will lead the hearts of 
upright men to punish such wicked doings. I design to 
be up so soon as possible & see what I can do in it with 
the help of God and Christian Friends. I must beg your 
pardon dear friends that I trouble you with such a large 
letter. Wish the Lord your God and my God may com- 
fort & bless you through his son Jesus and the power of 



50 The Settlement of Germantown. 

the Holy Spirit. I am respected friends your friend and 
servant. 

"Johnjawert, 

"Maryland, Bohemia river, March the 25th Ano. 1713." 

Some years later the survivors of the Company offered 
to convey such interests as they possessed to the Society in 
London organized for the propagation of the Gospel in 
foreign parts. This Society made an investigation which 
led to no substantial results. The efforts of the Pietists of 
Frankfort which began in religious enthusiasm ended in 
pecuniary misfortune. Wanting in that earnestness or per- 
sistency of purpose, or perhaps not driven by the same ur- 
gency of oppression, which led the purchasers at Crefeld 
to cross the seas, they constituted an interesting episode 
but not a potent factor in the early life of Germantown. 




London. 



THE SETTLEMENT OF GERHANTOWN. 




A- -.:// . 









aas5E^ss-==r 



PAGE FROM THE BEE-HIVE OF FA5TOR1U5. 
WRITTEN IN SEVEN LANGUAGES. 




CHAPTER III. 



Francis Daniel Pastorius. 




O^J^E now approach the 
^^\) career of one, who 
though his connection 
with the settlement was in a 
sense accidental, and though 
the movement which led to it 
cannot be ascribed to his 
endeavors, was nevertheless 
the most interesting and con- 
spicuous figure in associa- 
tion with early Germantown. 
He well deserves an exalted 
place among American wor- 
thies and his life in its self abnegation, its literary produc- 
tiveness and its breadth of liberality, appears the more ad- 
mirable when contrasted with the narrow intelligence and 
restricted outlook of the leaders of the Puritan settlements 



Pastorius. 



62 The sources of this biography are Pastorius' Umstandige Geograph- 
ische Beschreibung Pennsylvaniae, 1700; his Thesis 1676; his MSS. in 
the Historical Society of Penna. and in my possession; and Dr. Seiden- 
sticker's papers in the Deutsche Pionier, Cincinnati, 1S70, Vols. II. and 
III. 

51 



52 The Settlement of Germantown. 

or with the tobacco-dealing and Indian robbing impulses 
of those who have been called Cavaliers. His grand- 
father, Martin Pastorius, was assessor of the Court at 
Erfurt. When Gustavus Adolphus captured the town 
the soldiers were quartered in the house, which was 

upon the horse- 

ifPAnajOaaal 9<utofUj T^-T\ plun " 

' "* dered it, driving 

out the children with their drawn swords. The father rode 
to Mayence to make complaint, but again fell into the hands 
of the Swedish soldiers and was driven out naked and so 
badly beaten that in a few weeks afterwards he died. His 
wife was Brigitta, daughter of Christian Flinsberger, of 
Muhlhausen. 

Melchior Adam, son of Martin, was born at Erfurt, 
then containing twenty thousand people, on the 21st 
of September, 1624. In his childhood he met with 
many misadventures. Once, when nine months old, 
his mother fell with him from a boat into the Rhine, 
and later he felt the weight of the swords of the sol- 
diers in the army of Gustavus. He went to school at 
Erfurt, and studied poetry and rhetoric there, and at 
Wurtzburg, philosophy. He traveled to Gotha, Fulda, 
Frankfort, Mayence, Aschaffenburg, Wurtzburg and 
to Rome, where, August 26, 1644, he entered the col- 
lege, and after four years was graduated Lit. Doctor. 
It indicates the manners of the times that once he slept 
in a very dark chamber of an inn, while under the bed 
lay the body of a dead man which emitted a dreadful 
odor. From Rome he went to Vienna and thence to 
France, and at Nancy could find no inn and walked the 
streets all night, hearing the dogs bark and the cocks 
crow. At Meaux he and his friend were arrested as 



Mclchior Adam Pas tortus. 53 

spies, and when he showed his passport and letters from 
Cardinal Mazarine was told : "It is these books which 
make all the trouble and disturbance in the land." He 
reached Paris at a time of great tumult and unquiet, and, 
being compelled to keep within his room, there wrote four 
little books. On the 12th of June, 1649, he departed for 
Amiens, Lyons, Geneva and Basle, and the same year at 
Sommerhausen was converted to the Lutheran faith. He 
married Magdalena, daughter of Stephen Dietz and Mar- 
garetha Fischer, and widow of Henrich Frischman. 
Learned in both law and theology he settled at Winds- 
heim, of which he wrote a history and where he held 
many offices, including those of burgomaster and Superior 
Judge. 

Francis Daniel Pastorius, son of Melchior and Magda- 
lena, was born in Sommerhausen, Sept. 26th, 165 1. His 
sponsors in baptism were Daniel Gering, Doctor of Law at 
Leghitz, and Franciscus, Freyherr of Limburg, the latter of 
whom gave him a red scarlet coat, little sword, a hat with 
a feather and little white boots, " thus making a fool of me 
in my tender years." At eleven years of age his father 
took him to Windsheim and there he went to the gym- 
nasium to school. The teacher, Tobias Schumberg, a 
Hungarian, knew no German, and the pupils were com- 
pelled to talk to him in Latin. On the 31st of July, 1668, 
he entered the school at Altdorf and from there August 11, 
1670, he went to the University of Strasburg, where he 
began to study law and French. In July of 1672 he was 
at the high school at Basle, but in November returned to 
Windsheim. On the 13th of April, 1673, he went to Altdorf 
and July 2d from there to Nuremburg and Erfurt and 
thence to Jena, where on the 13th he renewed his study of 
the law and learned Italian, and in January, 1674, an( ^ 



54 The Settlement of Germantown. 

again April 18, had a public discussion in that language 
upon some legal problem. Thereafter having visited 
Naumburg and Gotha he journeyed, July 31, to Regens- 
burg in order to secure abetter knowledge of jurisprudence, 
and on April 16, 1675, he returned from Bayreuth to Wind- 
sheim. From there, Sept. 17th, he went again to Altdorf, 
where finally on the 23d of November, having passed his 
examinations, he read his inaugural thesis and was gradu- 
ated in law. His copy of this Latin thesis entitled " Dis- 
putatio inauguralis de rasura docmentorum " printed at Alt- 
dorff , and the only known copy, is now in my library. It 
closes with a Latin anagram upon the names of Melchior 
Adam Pastorius, his father, Dorothea Esther Volckmans, 
his stepmother, Franciscus Daniel Pastorius and Johannes 
Samuel Pastorius, his brother, and is explained in his own 
manuscript. After having taken his degree he went home 
to Windsheim. On the 24th of April, 1679, he made a jour- 
ney to Frankfort on the Mayn and there had a private school 
of law for some students and practiced a little. The oppor- 
tunity arose to visit Worms, Mannheim and Speyer. From 
December 1, 1679, to J une 2 ^> 1680, he lodged with 
Squire Fickard, "A merry hearted old gentleman." On 
the latter day he began a tour through Holland, England, 
France and Switzerland with Johann Bonaventura von 
Rodeck, " a noble young spark," whom he accompanied as 
tutor and to whom he had been recommended by Doc- 
tor Spener, " The brave patriarch of the Pietists," and 
returned to Frankfort fresh and well on the 16th of No- 
vember, 1682. There he met in the house called " Saal- 
hof" Dr. Spener, Dr. Schutz, Jacob Van de Wall and 
Eleanora von Merlau, and heard from his friends many 
reports concerning Pennsylvania. Already some God- 
fearing people, among whom were the Notary Christian 



Francis Daniel Pastorius. cc 



DISPUTATIO INAUGURALIS 

RASURA DOCU- 

MENTORUM, 

Qvcm t 

DIVINA SUFF RAG ANTE GRATIA, 

AUCTORITATE 

tMjgNiFicr 
JCTORUM ORDINIS 

in Incluto Noribergenfium Athenaeo, 

pro 

LICENTIA 

Summos in Utroqve jure Honores ac 

Erivilegia Doctor alia, more Majorum, 

ritecapetfendi, 

Fuhlico Eruditorum Exam'mi 
fiftit 

Franciscus Daniel Pastorius, 

Windcsheimenfis. 
*D. 23. Novembr.A.abincarnationtJ.C*. 

do loc LXXVI. _____ 

JltdorffI, 

Litetis Henri ci Maieri, Univ. Typogr. 



56 The Settlement of German town. 

Fenda and Frau Baurin, had determined to emigrate 
thither and had packed their goods. A keen desire came 
over him to sail in their company, having seen and ex- 
perienced sufficient of the frivolity of Europe to lead there 
a quiet and Christian life. He presented and sent his books 
to his brother, John Samuel, and after many letters ob- 
tained the consent of his father, together with two hundred 
rix dollars, and thereupon went to Kriegsheim, where he 
saw Peter Schumacher, Gerhard Hendricks and Arnold 
Kassel, and made ready for the long journey. On the 
2d of April he left Frankfort and came to Cologne, 
where he was pleasantly received by David Van Enden, 
Daniel Mitz and Dotzen, the representatives there of the 
King of Denmark. Dotzen expressed a desire to go with 
him, but his wife would not consent. There she went 
from house to house in a carriage, but perhaps in America 
she would have to look after the cattle and milk the cows. 
On the nth of April he went down the Rhine to Urdingen 
and from there on foot to Crefeld, where he spoke with 
Thones Kunders and his wife, and with Dirck, Hermann, 
and Abraham Op den Graeff and many others, who six 
weeks later followed him. On the 16th of April he came 
to Rotterdam and stopped with his friend Mariette Vette- 
kuke, and saw there Benjamin Furly, Peter Hendricks, 
Jacob Telner and others. On the 4th of May he sailed 
from Rotterdam, and on the 8th reached London, ac- 
companied by Tobias L. Kohlhaus. He lodged with 
John Hodgkins, in Lombard Street. Together with a 
little party of emigrants, Jacob Schumacher, George 
Wertmuller, Isaac Dilbeck and his wife Marieke and two 
boys, Abraham and Jacob, Thomas Casper, Conrad 
Bacher (alias Rutter) and an English maid, Frances Simp- 
son, he on the 6th of June sailed from Gravesend, on the 



Francis Daniel Pastorius. 57 

ship America, whose captain was Joseph Wasey, on the 
7th reached Deal, on the 10th left England, and on the 
1 6th of August arrived in the New World. Another pas- 
senger was the celebrated Thomas Lloyd, afterward 
Deputy Governor of Pennsylvania, with whom Pastorius 
established an intimate friendship. Since Lloyd did not 
understand German, and Pastorius was then unused to 
talking in English, they carried on their conversation in 
Latin. Upon arriving in Philadelphia he went at once 
to Penn, who received him with an affectionate friendship, 
invited him to dine, and once, after an absence of several 
days, came and made him promise to dine with him twice a 
week, and expressed much love for the Germans, which 
feeling he hoped would be reciprocated. Pastorius built 
a little house in Philadelphia, where many of the people 
were then living in caves, thirty feet long and fifteen wide, 
and made a window, for want of glass, of paper dipped in 
oil. Over the door he wrote: " Parva domus sed arnica 
Bonis procul este Prophani," at which Penn, when he 
read it, laughed aloud. We get an idea of the condition 
of the new Philadelphia when we learn that Pastorius in 
going from the river bank to the house of the baker Cor- 
nelius Bom, a few streets off, lost his way among the 
bushes. 

When Germantown was laid out he opened what is called 
the "Germantown Grund und Lager-Buch," containing 
the record of the conveyances of lands, and he wrote this 
prefatory invocation : 

Salve Posteritas 

Posteritas Germanopolitana 

et ex argumento insequentis paginal primitus observa 

Parentes ac Majores Tuos 

Alemaniam 



58 The Settlement of Germantown* 

dulce Solum quod eos genuerat, alueratque diu Voluntario exilio 

deseruisse ; 
(oh! Patrios focos!) 
ut in Silvosa hac Pennsylvania 
deserta Solitudine 
minus soliciti 
residuum Aetatis 
Germane h. e. instar fratrum transigerat 
Porro etiam addiscas 
Quantae molis erat 
exant lato jam mari Atlantico 
in Septrionali istoc Americae tractu 
Germaniam condere gentem 

Tuque 
Series dilecta Nepotum ! 
ubi fuimus exemplar honesti 
Nostrum imitare exemplum. 
Si autem a semita tarn difficili aberravimus 
Quod poenitenter agnoscitur 
ignosce ; 
Et sic te faciant aliena pericula cautem. 
Vale Posteritas ! 
Vale Cermanitas ! 
yEternum Vale. 

Whittier has happily rendered it in English verse as 
follows : 

Hail to posterity ! 
Hail future men of Germanopolis ! 
Let the young generations yet to be 
Look kindly upon this. 
Think how your fathers left their native land, 
Dear German land, O ! sacred hearths and homes ! 
And where the wild beast roams 
In patience planned 



Francis Daniel Pastorius. 59 

New forest homes beyond the mighty sea, 

There undisturbed and free 
To live as brothers of one family. 

What pains and cares befell, 

What trials and what fears, 
Remember, and wherein we have done well 
Follow our footsteps, men of coming years ; 

Where we have failed to do 

Aright or wisely live, 
Be warned by us, the better way pursue. 
And knowing we were human, even as you, 

Pity us and forgive. 

Farewell, Posterity ; 

Farewell, dear Germany ; 

Forevermore farewell ! 

We gain some idea of his personal appearance from a 
letter of Israel Pemberton, a boy of fourteen, upon whom 
he had used the birch, who wrote 13th of 6 mo. 1698 : 
" The first time I saw him I told my father that I thought 
he would prove an angry master. He asked me why so : 
I told him I thought so by his nose, for which he called me 
a prating boy." He describes himself as "of a melan- 
choly choleric complexion and therefore (Juxta Culpepper 
p. 194) gentle, given to sobriety, Solitary, Studious, doubt- 
ful, Shamefaced, timorous, pensive, constant and true in 
actions, of a slow wit, with obliviousness, &c. 

If any does him wrong, 

He can't remember 't long." 

From his father and other relations he received altogether 
twelve hundred and sixty-three Reichsthaler, of which he 
says, "Tot pereunt cum tempore Nummi." 



60 The Settlement of Germantown. 

He was thoroughly familiar with and wrote fluently in 
the Greek, Latin, German, French, Dutch, English, Ital- 
ian and Spanish languages. Of his command of the Latin 
the following letter to his old teacher Tobias Schumberg 
gives evidence : 

DE MUNDI VANITATE. 

Vale mundi genebundi colorata Gloria 

Tua bona, tua dona sperno transitoria 

Quae externe, hodierne, splendent pulchra facie, 

Cras vanescunt et liquescunt sicut Sol in glacie. 

Quid sunt Reges? quorum leges terror sunt mortalibus, 

Multi locis atque focis latent infernalibus. 

Ubi Vani, crine cani Maximi Pontifices ? 

Quos honorant et adorant cardinales supplices, 

Quid periti ? Eruditi sunt Doctores Artium 

Quid sunt Harum, vel Illarum studiosi partium ? 

Ubi h'uces Belli duces? Capita militiae? 

Quos ascendit et defendit rabies saevitiae. 

Tot et tanti, quanti quanti, umbra sunt et vanitas, 

Omna Horum nam Decorum brevis est inanitas. 

Qui vixerunt, abierunt, restant sola nomina, 

Tamquam stata atque rata nostrae sortis omina. 

Fuit Cato, fuit Plato, Cyrus, Croesus, Socrates, 

Periander, Alexander, Xerxes et Hippocrates, 

Maximinus, Constantinus, Gyges, Anaxagoras, 

Epicurus, Palinurus, Daemonax, Pythagoras, 

Caesar fortis, causa mortis, tot altarum partium, 

Ciceronem et Nasonem nil juvabat Artium. 

Sed hos cunctos jam defunctos tempore praeterito, 

Non est e re, recensere. Hinc concludo merito : 

Qui nunc degunt, atque regunt orbem hujus seculi, 

Mox sequentur et labentur velut schema speculi. 

Et dum mersi universi sunt in mortis gremium, 

Vel infernum, vel aeternum sunt capturi praemium. 



Slavery. 61 

Hincce Dei Jesu mei invoco clementiam, 

Ut is Sursum, cordis cursum ducat ad essentiam, 

Trinitatis, quae beatis summam dat laetitiam. 

The following letter is characteristic: " Dear Children, 
John, Samuel and Henry Pastorius : Though you are 
( Germano sanguine nati) of high Dutch Parents, yet re- 
member that your father was Naturalized, and ye born in 
an English Colony, Consequently each of you Anglus 
Natus an Englishman by Birth. Therefore, it would be a 
shame for you if you should be ignorant of the English 
Tongue, the Tongue of your Countrymen ; but that you 
may learn the better I have left a Book for you both, and 
commend the same to your reiterated perusal. If you 
should not get much of the Latin, nevertheless read ye the 
English part oftentimes over and over and over. And 
I assure you that Semper aliquid haerebit. For the Drip- 
pings of the house-eaves in time make a hole in a hard 
stone. Non vi sed saepe cadendo, and it is very bad Cloath 
that by often dipping will take no Colour. 

Lectio lecta placet, decies repetita placebit 

Quod Natura negat vobis Industria praestet. — F. P. D." 

The institution of slavery, which he saw in existence 
around him, called forth his earnest opposition, and at a 
time when in Massachusetts they were selling Indians, and 
white people of other creeds, to be sent to Barbados, 
and when even the Quakers had not }^et given their testi- 
mony against the traffic in negroes, he wrote the famous 
protest of 1688. In German and English verse, not so 
well known, he said ; 

Allermassen ungebuhrlich 
1st der Handel dieser Zeit, 



62 The Settlement of Germantown. 

Dass ein Mensch so unnatiirlich . 

Andre driickt mit Dienstbarkeit. 
Ich mocht einen solchen Fragen 

Ob er wohl ein Sklav mocht sein, 
Ohne Zweifel wird er sagen : 

Ach, bewahr' mich Gott ; nein, nein ! 

And also in English : 

If in Christ's doctrine we abide, 
Then God is surely on our side, 
But if we Christ's precepts transgress, 
Negroes by slavery oppress 
And white ones grieve by usury, 
Two evils which to Heaven cry, 
We've neither God nor Christ His Son, 
But straightway travel hellwards on. 

He was fond of his garden and of flowers and took de- 
light in the raising of bees, saying in his punning way 
that " Honey is money," and apparently found some re- 
laxation in the pursuit of Walton. Sometimes the loneli- 
ness of the woods oppressed him, and with the disappoint- 
ing sense that those who were to have been his companions 
had failed him, came the longing to see once more the 
familiar objects along the Rhine and his old home, but to 
a certain extent the presence of Lloyd was a recompense. 

" 'Twas he and William Penn that caused me to stay 
In this then uncouth land and howling wilderness 
Wherein I saw that I but little should possess ; 
And if I would return home to my father's house 
Perhaps great riches and preferments would espouse." 

In Germantown he looked after the affairs of the Frank- 
fort Land Company until 1700, and not only did he never 
receive any compensation, but he finally, along with the 



School. 63 

rest, lost his lands. He kept the records of the Court, 
compiled the laws and ordinances, was bailiff of the borough 
when organized, a justice of the peace and County Judge, 
and a member of the Assembly in 1687 an d 1691. As a 
means of gaining a livelihood he acted as a conveyancer 
and notary and wrote leases, mortgages, deeds, articles of 
agreement, wills, marriage certificates and other legal docu- 
ments and sometimes letters and translations. For a lease, 
bond or will he charged from two to three shillings ; for a 
deed on parchment from seven to nine shillings, and for a 
letter four pence. He wrote a plain flowing script and was 
very painstaking and careful about all of his work. Every- 
thing that he did, even the most prosy of labors, was en- 
livened with a certain quaint and learned humor. In open- 
ing an account with the Friends in his account book he 
solemnly credits them " in the first place with love." For 
the last twenty years of his life he also taught a school, and 
his Primer, of which but a single copy seems to be extant, 
was the first original school book printed in Pennsylvania. 
In a letter still preserved acknowledging a note from 
Phineas Pemberton excusing the lateness of his daughters 
he commends " the good disposition of the two little ones " 
and says : " The very shadow of the rod will do more with 
them than the spur with others." The instruction cost from 
four to six pence per week. Among those who sent 
children to him to be taught were Lenert Arets, Benjamin 
Armitage, W. Baumann, Joseph Coulson, James De la 
Plaine, Wilhelm Dewees, Cornelius Dewees, Jan Doeden, 
Jan De Wilderness, Paul Engle, Jacob Gottschalk, Hans 
Graeff, Wilhelm Hosters, Richard Huggin, Dirckjansen, 
Howell James, Conrad Jansen, T urgen Jacob s, Tunes 
Kunders, Aret Klincken, Paul Kastner, Paul Kuster, 
Peter Keyser, Aret Kuster, Henrich Kassel, Peter Keurlis, 



64 The Setlletnent of Germantown. 

Anthony Klincken, Jan Lucken, Jan Lensen, Anton Loof , 
Matthias Milan, Benjamin Morgan, Hans Heinrich Mehls, 
Jan Neus, Hans Neus, Thomas Potts, Jonas Potts, Samuel 
Richardson, Cunrad Rutter, Claus Rittinghuysen, Hen- 
drick Sellen, Wilhelm Strepers, Walter Simons, Peter 
Schumacher, George Schumacher, Isaac Schumacher, 
Richard Townsend, Abraham Tunes, Cornelius Tisen, 
Herman Tunes, Arnold Van Vossen, Isaac Van Sintern, 
Paul Wulff, Christian Warner and Christopher Witt. 

After William Bradford, the printer, had quarreled with 
his Quaker friends and gone away to New York, in 1692, 
Pastorius thought seriously of starting a press and re- 
gretted his lack of knowledge of the art. His younger 
brother, Augustin Adam, had at that time in consideration 
the question of coming to Pennsylvania, and Pastorius 
wrote to him telling him before doing so to spend three 
months in a printing office. 

When Dr. Griffith Owen died he wrote the following 
epitaph : 

" What here of Griffith Owen lies 
Is only what of all men dies. 
I His soul and spirit live above 
With God in pure and perfect love." 

On the 1st of December, 1688, he wrote to his good 
friend, George Leonard Modeln, Rector of the School at 
Windsheim, upon the subject of the education of youth, 
and saying that each boy, according to his capacity, in 
addition to his instruction in letters, should be taught ligh; 
hand work, so that in case of need he could follow it in 
distant provinces and help himself in any part of the world 
without dissipating his patrimony, to the sorrow of his elders. 
" I myself would give one hundred rix dollars if the time I 
wasted upon learning the Sperling physic and metaphysics 



Would be a Printer. 65 

Umftanbfee <&">#«? 
©et 311 allede&t eQUratfflm 

PENSYLVA^ 

NIJE, 

Snfcetten €nt>*©ra«&ett 

AMERICA 

FRANCISCUM DANIELEM 

P^STORIUM, 

J. V, Lie. im&Srte&cn&DStcWttrt 

^otfeeoanaefptfet ftttb tint* 

ge notable Se$elbenf)$eti I mtb 

53crict)t^c6wtbett an OCfifal ; £erm 

SBdtttrn 

MELCHIOREM ADAMUM PASTO- 

RIUM, 

gvandfutt unD JLetp$t$/ 

3ufmD«i ftp &n&rea$ Otto. 170&. 



66 The Settlement of Germanto-wn. 

and other unnecessary sophistical argumentationes and ar- 
guitioneS) I had devoted to engineer work or to book printing, 
which would have been useful and valuable to me and to 
my fellow Christians, rather than to Physics, Metaphysics 
and Aristotelian Elenchi and Sylochismi, by which no 
savage or heathen can be brought to God, much less a 
piece of bread can be made." This, however, was the 
ordinary quarrel of a man with his life and occupation. In 
the woods as he was, he could not desist from the writing 
of books. Seven of them were printed at the time. 

i. His inaugural dissertation " De rasura documen- 
torum." Altdorff, 1676. 

2. Zwey Stiicke aus Philadelphia, 1684. 

3. A work in German dedicated to Tobias Schumberg 
upon four subjects of ecclesiastical history : The lives of 
the Saints ; The Statutes of the Pontiffs ; The decisions of 
the Councils of the Church ; and the Bishops and Patriarchs 
of Constantinople ; with the pseudo imprint Germanopolis, 
1690. 

4. A circumstantial geographical description of the lately 
founded province of Pennsylvania. Frankfort, 1700. 

5. A new Primmer or Methodical Direction to attain the 
True Spelling, Reading and Writing of English. New 
York, 1698. 

6. Ein Send Brieff Offenhertziger Liebsbezeugung an 
die sogenannte Pietisten in Hoch Teutschland. Amster- 
dam, 1697. 

7. Henry Bernhard Koster, William Davis, Thomas 
Rutter and Thomas Bowyer, four Boasting Disputers of 
this world Rebuked and Answered according to their folly, 
which they themselves have manifested in a late pamphlet 
entitled Advice for all Professors and Writers. New 
York, 1697. 



Pastori us as an Author. 67 



Francisci Danielis Pastorh 

Sommerhufano- Franci. 

.fturfce (Beogtap&ifc&e Sefcfccetbima 

ber lefctrtiabl* erfun&men 

Stmcrkanifcben £ant>fd)afFt 

PENSYLVANIA, 

(Dit't angefjcnctten einigctt tt6tabfen25egtf 

t>cnbettcn uni) S5crtd^t*©cbreiben an ^(Ten£rn. 

pattern/ PatriotenunD ante Steunbe 

Vovvtbe. 

1 © if* bcnen STJeinicren inSftefamt jut 8 
(Bniicte befanbt/ auf roa6*VPeife id?/ 
von meinen 2\in&t?sbdinen an /4uf 
bem tP.ge Mefet* 5eielid)£eic meirtert 
lebene£auff gegen Me tt'^^^^tc^f eitjU/ein* 
jeitdnet un&in aiitm meinemitbun babin§H 
tvad)cet babe/ ttne id? Sen alletn tjuteh VPillert 
©(Detes ertcrtrten / feine bobe 21 Umad>c fui*<&? 
:tn 1 uno feine unevtri"unblid>e(0uce liebcn lei?* 
ncnmbcbte. ilnb obwobkn lib nebfl anbettt 
jemeinen YOtffenfd?affcen bet freyen Mtttfe/ 
$a& Studium Juris feliciter abfolvnret / 5ie JCa* 
iidntfcfvuno Jransofifcbe Bpracfccn ex funda- 
ment o begriffen / and) ben fo qemmrt ten girop 
fen Tour Ourd) bie SLanbfcbaffrtn getban t fr 
babe icb jeboct? an aikn(£>itenunb<j~nben met* 
tten guofjefren £lei# tmbZxmubung an anbeirs 
nid;terjewenbec/als sic*tmiid) ju erf abtenvtw 

4 tod? 




68 The Settlement of Germantoivn. 





reiouna 



PENSYLVA- 

3n imtn €n&©rdtt(jra 

AMERICA 

FRANCISCUM DANIELEM 
PASTORIUM* 

J. V. Lie; into gnel^ns--SSt(tKm 

Dafelbjlctt;' 

SBorfreo angefyencf et fitt fcittfge no* 

table ^egefeeitfteiten/ tmfc S3m$fc 

©cfjrei&en an fcejjcn .jperoi 

QBatta-n 

MELCHIOREM ADAMUM 
PASTORIUM, 

————I i » i i ■ m 1 ■ ■ i ii i ., - ... i . iii ■ I — — t 

jvancPfrnt tmMLeipsig/ 

3WttM&6c$3fett*aSfitta. 1704. 




Pastoi'ius as an Author. 69 

GUSfot Rente 
©ed) imgciiiefne 

ractMein 

D« otanhim Safi&orum Vitis 

I. Deomnium Pontificum Statutrs 

II. DeConCiliorum Decifronibus 

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GERMANOPOLI 

Anno Qhrtfi M. DC, X& 



jo The Settlement of Germantown. 




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72 The Settlement of Germantoxvn. 



HtTiry Bemhird KjjIeT^ William Dmtis 9 

Thorn 4$ Ritttcr&i Thomas 8otyer f 

FOUR 

Boafling Difputers 

Of this World briefly 

REBUKED, 

And Anfwered according ro their Folly, 
which they i hem (elves have manifelfed in a 
late Pamphlet, entinled, advice for afl Proz 
fe/fors and Writers. 



*? 



IvMtti Damd Paflorwj* 



••w^mmmnwimMnKmm'UAmmvtmu 



Printed And Sold by WiAism Bradford M ihe 
Bible in New<,Tork 9 i 0*97, 



Past or his Manuscripts. 73 

In addition to these he left forty-three works in manu- 
script, two of which, supposed to have been lost, are now 
printed in this volume. Many, no doubt, will never be re- 
covered, but we have a catalogue of their titles. 

1. Alvearium or Bee Hive, a large encyclopaedia of 
such matters as he thought necessary for the information 
of his children. 2. Academische Spar Stunden. 3. Mis- 
cellanica Theologica et Moralia. 4. Formulae Solennes, 
or several forms of such writings as are vulgarly in use. 
5. Confusanea Geometria, oder einfaltiger Unterricht vom 
Landmessen. 6. A breviary of Arithmetic. 7. Lingua 
Anglicana or some Miscellaneous Remarks concerning the 
English Language. 8. Lingua Latina or Grammatical 
Rudiments. 9. Emblematical Recreations. to. Semel 
insanivimus omnes oder Poetische Einfalle. 11. A col- 
lection of some English Manuscripts. 12. A collection of 
English Hymns alphabetically digested. 13. The Young 
Country Clerk. 14. Pennsylvanische Gesetze and Ger- 
mantown Statutes. 15. Deliciae hortenses et voluptates 
apianae. 16. Itinerarium oder Reisebeschreibung. 17. 
Liber Epitaphiorum. 18. Phraseologia Teutonica. Krafft 
und Safft der Teutschen Helden-Sprach. 19. Miscellanea 
Prima oder Academischer Spar Stunden Vorlaufer. 20. 
Medicus Dilectus oder Artzney Biichlein. 21. Oeconomia 
oder Haushaltungs reguln. 22. Theologica Anglicana, in 
grunem Pergament eingebunden. 23. Melligo Sententia 
Latine. 24. Calendarium Calendariorum or a perpetual 
Almanack. 25. Onomastical Considerations. 26. Vade- 
mecum, or the Christian Scholars pocket book. 27. Nee 
tutus piscis ab Anglo ; or a few observations concerning 
angling with several tracts on husbandry. 28. Mecum 
liber ibis etc or Exemplified Rules of Arithmetic and 
Rhythmical and Proverbial Copies. 29. The Good Order 



74 The Settlement of Germantown. 

and Discipline of the Church of Christ. 30. The Monthly 
Monitor, or my first born son of Husbanderia. 31. Bernh. 
P.-Catechism, Englished by me. 32. Aviarium oder 
Bienenbiichlein. 33. Wm. Penn's Fruchte der Einsamkeit 
von mir verteutscht. 34. English Rhymes. 35. Alvear- 
ialia. 36. Private Annotations. 37. A Fascicle of Sev- 
eral Manuscripts. 38. Additamenta ad Fennes Gram- 
maticam Gallicam. 39. Additamenta ad Caffae Gram. 
Italicam. 40. Additamenta to the Writing Scholar's Com- 
panion. 41. Latinae primordia Linguae. 42. Law terms 
added to the Compleat Justice. 43. Anhang zu Tim Roll's 
Gartenbiichlein . 

In 1713, while confined to bed with a serious illness, he 
wrote a lively description of his difficulties with Sprogell 
and Falkner over the lands of the Frankfort Land Com- 
pany, which he evidently intended to print, and which first 
appeared, after the lapse of two hundred years, in my Penn- 
sylvania Colonial Cases. It is here reproduced as a part of 
the history of Germantown and as an illustration of his 
style in English composition. 

EXEMPLUM SINE EXEMPLO; 
Or 

(to borrow the Discription of one of John Wilson's Plays) 

The Cheats and the Projectors. 

I, Francis Daniel Pastorius, having formerly (towit these 
28 years past) by Doctor Schutz & other honest men in 
high Germany, (Purchasers of 25000 acres of land in this 
Province of Pennsylvania, and known by the name of the 
Francfort Company) been made & Constituted their At- 
torney, and still being concerned as Copartner with them, 
to clear my Conscience (as touching the administration of 
their sd estate) before all People to whom the reading 



THE SETTLEHEMT OF GERHA/NTOWM. 




SEAL OF FASTOR1US. 

ENLHRGED. 

FROM A CONTEMPORARY DEED IN THE COLLECTION OF THE 
HISTORICAL SOCIETY OF FEN NSYLVRNI A. 



The Cheats and the Projectors. 75 

hereof may come, as I always endeavoured to keep the 
same void of offence towards the all seeing Eyes of God, 
am, if it were, constrained to publish their short relation 
for as much as the aforesd Francfort Company is at present 
ejected out of their 25000 acres of land, summo jure, i, e, 
summa Injuria, by extreme right, extreme wrong. Now 
Intending Brevity, I shall let my Reader know that the sd 
Company being all persons of approved Integrity & learn- 
ing became, at least some of them, personally acquainted 
with our Worthy Proprietary & Governr. William Penn, 
and purchased of him at a full rate the abovementioned 
25000 acres, & in the very infancy of this Province dis- 
bursed large sums of money for the transporting of Ser- 
vants Tenants and others ; and that I, according to the 
best of my poor ability, (as many of the primitive Inhabitants 
& settlers yet surviving Swedes Dutch and English may 
testify) administered their affairs 17 years and a half. But 
conscious of my weakness, have often requested them to 
disburden me of this Load of theirs I took on my Shoulders 
by their frequent assurance to be behind my heels into this 
Countrey as soon as the Ice was broken. Whereupon the 
heirs of the sd first purchasers did appoint in my room 
Daniel Falkner, John Kelpius, & John Jawert, N B to act 
JOINTLY and not SEVERALLY. However when the 
sd John Kelpius had a forecast in what channel things 
would run he with all speed in a certain Instrument (of 
George Lowther's device who was the first Lawyer that 
unhappily got an hand into the Companies business) de- 
clared his Unwillingness to be any further concerned 
therein, and therefore termed Civiliter Mortuus. Then 
Daniel Falkner & John Jawert acted in the dual number as 
the sd Companies Attornies for some few years. 

For the sd Jawert being married and settled in Marie- 
land, Falkner turned into such a spendthrift and Ever- 
drunk- Ever-dry that he made Bonefires of the Companies 
flax in open street at Germantown, giving a bit of silver 
money to one Lad for lighting his Tobacco-pipe, and a 
piece of eight to another for showing him a house in Phila- 
delphia, which in his sober fits he knew as well as his own. 



76 The Settlement of Germantown. 

Hereupon his Joint- Attorney John Jawert affixed an adver- 
tisement at the Meeting house of Germantown aforesd, 
dated the 9th of November 1705, wherein he forewarned 
all persons who had any Rent or other Debt to pay unto 
the sd Company to forbear the paying thereof &c. And 
all was asleep, as Dormice do in winter, till about two 
years agoe, one John Henry Sprogel arrived in this Prov- 
ince, who being he, that by the Collusion and treachery of 
the sd Daniel Falkner, by the wicked assistance of the Pro- 
jectors to be hereafter to be spoken of, has through I know 
not what Fiction of the Law Ejected the sd Company out 
of their real estate of 25000 acres, I think it not amiss to 
give some little account of him. His parents I hear are of 
a good report and to be pittied for such a Scandal to their 
Family. This Degenerate and Prodigal Child came for 
the first time into this Province in anno 1700, and quickly 
owing more than he was worth, went over to his native 
land in order to procure some cash of his Father whom he 
said to be a rich Bishop on that side. In his return he 
was taken by the French & carried to Dunkerk, whence 
he escaped with an empty Brigantine into Holland, and by 
the (now repented of) Recommendation of Benjamin 
Furly & his Bookkeeper, H. L., found so much Credit 
with John Van der Gaegh, Merchant at Rotterdam & 
others as to bee Intrusted with a deal of goods. After he 
departed out of harms way in that country, and could not 
be found when search'd for, in England, he came at last 
to Philada and there took his oath (as I am credibly in- 
formed) that all the said goods were his own directly or 
indirectly. Some of the Germantown people then visiting 
this their great Countryman and inquiring for letters were 
looked upon as Slaves, he being the only Anglified in all 
the Province of Pennsilvania. Howbeit none of us all (I 
beleeve) will ever have such a base and disloyal heart 
towards our Soveraign Lady the Queen of Great Britain 
as to get his Naturalization by the like disingenuous knack 
as he did, viz. : — to borrow a key & wear another man's 
coat as though it were his own &c. 

But to return to the Francfort Companies Concern, he 



The Cheats and the Projectors. 77 

the aforesd John Henry Sprogel having along with him 
a Letter of Attorney from the sd Benjamin Furly (after- 
wards though post festum revoked ) sold 1000 acres of 
land, part of the sd Furly's purchase in this Province, unto 
David Lloyd at a reasonable price so as to have his trea- 
sonable advice in Law for the most unjust Entry upon the 
Companies land. For he the sd Sprogel, finding no means 
to satisfy his Old and Just Debts, was forced to find a new 
and untrodden way of Clearing his Scores, and to play the 
Gentleman sprung out of a Grocer's Shop. Therefore 
among a Swarm of tedious lies (wherewith I dare not 
trouble the Reader) he also spread this, that he stroke a 
bargain for the Companies land with Doctor Gerhard van 
Mastricht, one of Copartners, of whom I but newly re- 
ceived an extreme kind Letter to the clean Contrary 
thereof. Moreover the sd Sprogel to pacify the above- 
mentioned John Jawert, who likewise had a share in the sd 
Company, proffered unto him 700 Pounds Pennsilvania 
Silver money for the land, and 100 Pounds besides as a 
Gratuity to himself &c. But he the sd Jawert being too 
honest for an Imposture and Bribe of this black stamp, 
Sprogel was driven to that Extremity (hap what may and 
let Frost & Fraud have hereafter as foul ends as they will) 
that he must now obtain the 25000 Acres & Arrears of 
Quitrents due to the Francfort Company solely & alone of 
Daniel Falkner, who plunged in needlessly contracted 
debts over head & ears, could expect no gladder tidings (as 
he said himself ) than the same Proffer made unto him. 

Here David Lloyd (whom to name again I am almost 
ashamed) comes in very gingerly to play his Roll FIC- 
TIONEM JURIS AD REIPSA DETRUDENDOS 
VEROS POSSESSORES, the which nevertheless it seems 
he was not bold-faced enough to do in his proper Clothes, 
but one Tho : Macknamara a Lawyer, if it were, started 
up for the purpose out of Marieland, (for a couple of Peri- 
wigs which he himself told me was all the Fee he had of 
this his brave Client for blushing in this Case) must be 
Nominally inserted in the Ejectment, lending like once the 
Cat her Paws to a more Crafty Creature for the drawing 



78 The Settlement of Germantown. 

of the rosted Chestnuts from off the glowing coals. If any 
demand how this D — LI 63 and Macknamara could possibly 
in so horrible a manner Circumvent the County Court, I 
suppose the fittest Answer I can Give to this Question is 
what Judge Grouden declared before our honourable Lieu- 
tenant Governor sitting in Council, viz : that at the tail of 
the Court Daniel Falkner and John Henry Sprogel did ap- 
pear and the aforenamed d — 11 and M. laid the matter 
before the Court, and none there to object anything &c 
(For this cheating trick was managed so Clandestinely that 
I and John Jawert were altogether ignorant thereof and 
when Tho : Clark the Queen's Attorney then present in 
Court did but rise, the others suspecting he might say 
somewhat in Obstruction of their hainous design, was 
gently pull'd down by the Sleeve and promised 40 shillings 
to be quiet, when he had nothing to offer) Thus they 
Surprised the Court and ob-et-subreptitie compassed the 
ejectment. Three days after the breaking up of the afresd 
Court I heard of this unhandsom Juggle and gave Intelli- 
gence thereof to John Jawert, who forthwith came up and 
putt in his Humble Bequest to our well respected Lieuten- 
ant Govrnr and his honble Council, we had the sd Tho : 
Clark assigned to pleade our Cause and so Jawert paid him 
a Fee of ten Pounds, but to this day the sd Sprogel still 
stirs his stumps in the Companies lands & Rents with- 
out the least controlment. Since all this there arrived 
divers letters from beyond the Sea, deciphering pretty fully 
abundance of the detestable gulleries whereby the sd 
Sprogel ensnared & trepan'd the Simplicity of upright & 
Plaindealing people in Holland, admonishing him not to 
persist in his Evildoings but to Confess and make repara- 
tion to the defrauded, if not fourfold as penitent Zaccheus 
did, yet so far as his ill gotten griff-graff gains would 
reach &c &c. And further there came also fresh Letters 
of Attorney from all the Partners of the Francfort Com- 
pany, Living in Germany, Impowering some very able 
Men in Philada to redress their so horribly distressed Es- 

63 To ensure its not being overlooked, I call attention to this pun upon 
the names of David Lloyd and the Devil. 



Death of Pastorius. 79 

tate in this Province by one worse than the worst Land- 
Pirate in the world could have done, the which I hope they 
will undertake and heartily wish, that the Lord (who is 
called a Father to the Fatherless and a Judge of the 
Widows, whereof there are at this instant several in the 
abovesd Company) may prosper their just Proceedings, 
and all, who reverence Righteousness and Equity counte- 
nance them therein, and not be partakers of the Spoil, nor 
of the Curse entailed thereon with the aforesd John Henry 
Sprogel, for whom notwithstanding the foreign discovery 
of his unheard of Villanies I retain that sincere Love as to 
pray God Almighty to Convict & Convert him of & from 
his Perverseness, that he may foresake his diabolical lies, 
pride, bragging and boasting, and not longer continue the 
Vassal of Satan and heir of Hell, but become a child of 
Heaven and a follower of Christ, our ever-blessed Saviour, 
who as he is truth itself so likewise meek and lowly in 
heart, leading out of all cozening Practices into the way of 
holiness and eternal Felicity. 

On the 25th of November, 1688, Pastorius married in 
Germantown Anna Klostermann, daughter of Dr. Hend- 
rich Klostermann, of the Duchy of Cleves, and they had 
two sons, Johann Samuel, born March 30, 1690, and Hein- 
rich, born April 1, 1692. He died February 27, 17 19. 
There is no stone to mark his grave and no man knows 
where his bones lie. But Howell Powell, a Welshman, on 
the 21st of the 3d month, 1720, gave forth these enthusi- 
astic verses to commemorate his merits : 

What Francis Daniel Pastorius 

Hath tane his flight from hence to Olympus 

Lost to his Posterity, ye Germantown Specially 

Loss (tho' great gains to him) it was to many, 

The Hermes, Glory, Crown and Linguists gone 

Who oft interpreted Teutonick Tongue, 

The Scribe and Tutor, German's Polar Guide, 



80 The Settlement of Germantozun* 

An Antiquarian that was far from pride 

Religious, Xealous Amanuensis ; 

An Universal Man in Arts Sciences, 

Who lov'd his Friends : the Britains ; yea all Nations 

Zealous for the Truth, full of Compations, 

Ah ! may Germanopolis be agen supplied 

Of that great Loss ; their Honour once, their Guide 

A wise Achilles as he was be sent 

Lowly, Lovely, Learn'd, Lively, Still Content, 

Now free from Cares, Dire Troubles that attend 

This brittle Case, the Heavenly Quire, befriend 

Him still ; Joyes in the Glorious Lamb, alone 

Seeth the Beatifick vision 

You his Family offspring take Example 

By Francis, Just Sincere & Truly Humble 

Tho you condole the Loss of 's Company 

He got a better ; be Content thereby 

Tho many lost a Friend ; He got ; yet they 

Rejoyce that he hath Nobler still for ay. 

Tho dead to his Corporal Form, that Sleep, He Live 

In Immortality needs no Reprieve. 

Vade Diis Superis scandere Culmen Olymp 
Francisce ae que vale, tu cape, carpe viam, 
Opto simul quaeris vestigia recta sequi 
Te pedibus verbis, te simul ; esse bonos. 

And a greater than Howell, William Penn, wrote in 
1698-99 this merited encomium : " Irenarcha, hoc anno 
est aut nuperrime fuit, alias vir sobrius probus prudens 
et pius spectatae inter omnes inculpataeque famae." 




CHAPTER IV. 

Letters Home. 

Letter from Francis Daniel Pastorius, 
March 7, 1684. 64 

(\4~N order to fulfil my due 
obligations, as well as my 
promise, on setting out, I 
shall state somewhat circum- 
stantially, how and what I have 
found and observed in this 
land, and, while not ignorant 
that through varying reports 
of these much is brought to 
light, I state at the beginning 
that with impartial pen, and 
without purpose to deceive, I 
will faithfully relate the dis- 
comforts of the journey and the 
poverty of this province, as 
well as the riches of the same, which have been almost too 




Arms of William Penn. 



64 1 am indebted for the above letter to the Rev. Wm. J. Hinke, who 
quite recently discovered it in one of the Continental libraries. Extracts 
from it appear in the Geographische Beschreibung and are elsewhere used 
in this volume, but it is so filled with hitherto unknown and graphic de- 
tails that it is here translated in its entirety. 

81 



82 The Settlement of Germantown. 

highly praised by others. Then I ask nothing more in my 
little corner of the earth than to walk in the footsteps of 
Him who is the Way, and to follow His wholesome teach- 
ing, because He is the Truth, in order that I may forever 
be joined to Him in life eternal. 

(I) I will therefore begin with the sea voyage which is 
dangerous indeed on account of possible shipwreck to be 
feared, as well as unpleasant on account of the coarse and 
hard ship fare, so that from my own personal experience I 
can much better understand what David says in the 107th 
Psalm that on ship board one can search out and learn of 
not only the wonderful works of the Lord but also the 
spirit of storm. Concerning my journey hither, on the 
tenth of June, I sailed from Deal, with four men servants, 
two maids, two children and one young lad. 65 We had on 
the whole way mostly unfavorable wind, not twelve con- 
secutive hours of favorable wind, much storm, and tempest. 
Also the foremast broke into two pieces, so that we reached 
here in not less than ten weeks ; but sat ctto, si sat bene. — 
considering that it seldom happens that any arrive much 
more promptly. The people from Crefeld, who reached 
here October 6th, were just ten weeks on the sea, and the 
ship that started from Deal with ours, was fourteen days 
longer on the way and some of the people died. Certain 
people from Crefeld also between Rotterdam and Eng- 
land lost a grown daughter, whose loss however was re- 
placed by the birth of two children. Upon our ship no 
one died and no one was born. Almost all of the passen- 

65 It will be observed that by omitting the English maid who had left 
him and adding the others on this list to the thirty-three persons from 
Crefeld, we get the forty-two residents of Germantown mentioned later in 
this letter. Dilbeck was a member of the German Reformed church 
and a weaver. His wife was Mary Blomerse. See the valuable papers of 
Henry S. Dotterer in his Historical Notes Upon the Reformed Church. 



Fare 011 the Ship. 83 

gers were seasick for several days, but I, when not more 
than four hours out was upset by other accidents, for the 
two carved lions over our ship's clock struck me right on 
the back, and on July 9th, during a storm at night, I fell 
so violently upon the left side that for some days I was 
obliged to keep my bed. These two accidents especially 
recall to me the first fall, which was passed down to all 
posterity, by our early progenitors in Paradise ; also many 
of those which I have experienced in this sad valley of my 
exile per varios casus, etc., but praised be the fatherly 
hand of divine mercy which so often upholds and restrains 
us, so that we do not quite fall into the abyss of evil. 
Gorg Wertmuller also fell heavily. Thomas Gasper was 
badly hurt. The English maid had the erysipelas and 
Isaac Dilbeck, who otherwise, according to external ap- 
pearances, was the strongest, lay below longer than any- 
one else. I had also a little ship-hospital, as I alone of the 
Germans had taken my berth among the English. How a 
companion aboard was careless, and how our ship was 
made to tremble by the repeated attacks of a whale, I re- 
lated in detail last time. The fare on board was very bad. 
We lived medice ac modice. Every ten persons received 
each week three pounds of butter ; daily four cans of beer, 
and two cans of water ; at noon every day in the week, meat, 
and fish three days at noon, which we had to dress with our 
own butter ; and every day we had to keep enough from our 
dinner to make our supper upon. The worst of all was 
that our meat and fish were both so salty and so strong 
smelling, that we could scarcely half enjoy them. And 
if I had not prepared myself at the advice of good friends 
in England, with various kinds of refreshment, it might 
very likely have gone badly with me. Therefore it is well 
to suggest to those who wish to come here in the future that 



84 The Settlement of Germantown, 

they either, when there are many of them, provide their 
own fare, or else make definite arrangements with the cap- 
tain, in regard to both quantity arid quality, how much and 
what kind they shall daily receive ; and, in order to bind 
him to this the more closely, one should leave unpaid some 
little from the cost of his passage, also when possible 
should have himself bound over to such a ship which sails 
to this town of Philadelphia, since those who are left lying 
in Upland, undergo many trials. 

My company on board consisted of many kinds of people. 
There was one D. Mediconae with his wife and eight chil- 
dren, a French captain, a pastry-cook, 66 an apothecary, a 
glassblower, mason, smith, cartwright, joiner, cooper, hat- 
ter, shoemaker, tailor, gardener, peasants, seamstresses, 
etc., in all about eighty people in the ship's company. 
These differ not only in their ages (our oldest woman was 
sixty years old, the youngest child only twelve weeks) and 
in their occupations just mentioned, but they were also of 
such different religions and stations that I might not un- 
suitably compare the ship which brought them hither, 
with the Ark of Noah, in which were found not more un- 
clean beasts than clean ^reasonable). In my company I 
have fallen in with the Romish Church, with the Lutheran, 
with the Calvinistic, with the Anabaptist and with the 
English, and only one Quaker. 

On the nth of Aug. we for the first time took a sound- 
ing and found that we were close upon the great sand bank, 
and accordingly, in order to sail around it, we must go 
back for over one hundred miles out of our course. 

On the 16th of the same month (August, 1683) with 
much joy we came into sight of America, and on the 18th 
in the morning entered Delaware Bay, which is thirty 

65 Cornelius Bom. ( ?) 



William Pain. 85 

English miles long and fifteen wide, while of such un- 
equal depth that while our ship drew thirteen feet of water, 
we several times ran aground in the sand. 

On the 20th we passed New Castle and Upland and 
Dimicum, and arrived in the dusk of evening, praised be 
God, happily in Philadelphia. There, on the following day 
I gave over to W. Penn the writings which I had with me, 
and was received by him with affectionate friendliness ; of 
which very worthy gentleman and praiseworthy ruler, I 
should speak suitably. 

(II) My pen (although it is from an eagle, which a so 
called savage recently brought into my house) is much too 
weak to express the lofty merits of this Christian, for 
such he is indeed. He invited me very often to his table, 
also to walk and ride in his always elevating society ; and 
when I was last away from here for eight days, to bring 
victuals from New Castle, and he had not seen me for that 
length of time, he came himself to my little house, and 
requested that I should still come two or three times to his 
home, as his guest. He was very fond of the Germans 
and once said openly in my presence to his councillors and 
attendants : The Germans I am very fond of and wish 
that you should love them also ; although I never at any 
other time heard a similar command from him ; but these 
pleased me the more because they entirely conform to the 
command of God (vid. I John 31. 23). I can now say no 
more than that Will. Penn is a man who honors God, and 
is by Him honored in return, who loves good, and is by 
all good men rightly loved, etc. I do not doubt that others 
will yet come here and learn by experience that my pen 
has not written enough in this direction. 

(III) About the condition of the land I must in the 
future after one or more years acquaintance, state some- 



86 The Settlement of Germantown. 

thing more definite. The Swedes and Dutch who have cul- 
tivated the same for twenty-five years and more, are in this 
instance, as in most others, of two opinions, laudatur ab his, 
culpatur ab illis. It is certain that the ground soil lacks 
nothing in fertility, and will here, as well as in Europe, re- 
ward the labor of our hands, if we work upon and manure 
it, which two things it most needs. The above-mentioned 
old inhabitants are poor economists, have neither barns nor 
stalls, let their grain lie unthreshed under the open sky for 
several years, and let their cattle, horses, cows, swine, etc., 
run summer and winter through the thickets, though they 
derive little benefit therefrom. Surely the penance which 
God inflicted upon Adam that he should eat his bread in 
the sweat of his brow, extends also to his descendants in 
this land, and they who wish to spare their hands may re- 
main where they are. Hie opus, hie labor est and there 
is no money without the disposition to work. (Swiss pro- 
vincialism of to-day for " arbeiten " says " wercken ") for 
it slips through the fingers, and I may say with Solomon ; 
It has wings. During the past year very many people 
both from England and Ireland, as well as from Barbados 
and other American islands have come here, and this 
province did not produce sufficient means of subsistence 
for such an influx, wherefore all food became rather dear, 
and almost all the money went for the same out of the land. 
Nevertheless we hope in time to have a greater abundance 
of both, for W. Penn will coin money, and agriculture will 
be better established, etc. Farmers and laborers are most 
needed here, and I wish I had a dozen strong Tyrolese 
here to cut down the massive oak trees ; for wherever one 
turns it may be said : Itur in antiquam sylvam. There is 
everywhere only forest, and little open space to be found, 
in which, as in other respects, my previously cherished 



Products of the Soil. 87 

hope was vain, for in truth, in these wild orchards there 
are no apples at all nor pears. And through this very cold 
winter no game is to be found. The wild grapes are quite 
small, and better to eat than to make wine from. The 
walnuts have exceedingly thick shells, and small kernels, 
so that they are scarcely worth the trouble of opening them ; 
but the chestnuts and hazelnuts are somewhat better. Also 
the peaches, apples and pears are very good, and are not 
to be complained of, except that there are not as many of 
them as some desire, etc. On the other hand there are 
more rattle snakes (whose sting is deadly) in the land, 
than we like, etc. I must yet add this little tanquam testis 
oculatus, that on the 16th of October beautiful violets were 
found in the woods ; Item. After I came to the town of 
Germantown on the 24th of October, and on the 25th of 
the same month, when I was coming back here with seven 
others, we came upon, on the way, a wild vine running over 
a tree, upon which hung about four hundred clusters of 
grapes, wherefore we thereupon cut down the tree, all eight 
of us had enough, and each one carried a hatful home. Item. 
When I was dining with W. Penn on the 25th of Aug., 
after the meal was finished, there was brought in a single 
root of barley, which had grown here in a garden, and had 
on it fifty stalks. But all. grain does not bear in that pro- 
portion, it is as the proverb says : One swallow does not 
make a summer. However I do not doubt that in the 
future there will be more examples of such fertility, when 
we earnestly put these to the plow. I regret the vines, 
which I brought with me because, while we were still in 
Delaware Bay, they were soaked in sea water, and all but 
two were spoiled. The oft mentioned W. Penn has 
planted a vineyard of French vines, whose growth it is a 
pleasure to look upon, and which brought to my recol- 
lection, when I saw them, the one of Cap. Johannis. 



88 The Settlement of Germantozvn. 

(IV) Philadelphia daily increases in the number of its 
houses, and in population ; now there is being built also a 
house of correction in order that those who do not wish to 
live as Philadelphians should, may be disciplined, for there 
are some here, to whom applied what our dear friend said 
in his letters, namely that we have more trouble with bad 
Christians here than with the Indians. Further, here and 
there towns are being built. Beside our own one by name 
Franckfurt, about half an hour from here, is beginning to 
be started, where also a mill and glass factory are built. 
Not far from there, namely, two hours from here, lies our 
Germantown, where already forty-two people live in twelve 
homes, who are for the most part linen weavers, and not 
much given to agriculture. These honest people spent all 
their means on their journey, so that where provision was 
not made for them by W. Penn, they were obliged to serve 
others. They have by repeated wanderings back and 
forth made quite a good road all the way to the said Ger- 
mantown. And I can say no more for this than that it lies 
upon black rich earth, and is girt half way round with 
pleasant springs, as with a natural wall. The main street 
is sixty feet broad, and the cross street forty, and each 
family has an estate of three acres, etc. 

(V) In regard to the inhabitants, I can do no better 
than divide them into the natural and the cultivated. For, 
if I called the former savages, and the latter Christians, I 
would be unjust to many of both races. Of the latter, I 
have already explained that the sailing ship was not to be 
compared to any thing but Noah's Ark. The Lutheran 
preacher who wants to show the Swedes the way to heaven 
like a statue of Mercury, is, in a word, a drunkard. Simi- 
larly there are false coiners, and other vicious persons here, 
whom however the breath of God's wrath will haply 



Indians. 



89 



scatter like chaff, at his good time. Of pious God-fearing 
people there is also, no lack, and I can assert in all truth 
that nowhere in Europe have I seen, as in our Philadel- 
phia, the notice : Such and such a thing has been found, 
the loser may apply ; often also the opposite : Such and 
such a thing has been lost, whoever returns it shall receive 
a reward ; etc. Concerning these first cultivated foreigners 
I will say no more now than that among them are found 
some Germans who have already been in this country twenty 
years and so have become, as it were, naturalized, namely 
people from Schleswig, Brandenburg, Holstein, Switzer- 
land, etc, also, one from Nuremberg, Jan Jacquet by name, 
but will briefly give some in- 
formation concerning these 
per errorem called savages. 
The first which came to my 
notice were the two who at 
Upland came up to our ship 
in a canoe. I presented 
them with a drink of brandy, 
which they wished to pay for 
with half a kopfstuck, and 
when I refused this money, 
they took my hand and said, 

thanks, brother. They are Arm8 of the jacquet family of 
strong of limb, dark in body, Nuremberg. 

and they dye their faces red, blue, etc in many ways. 
They go in summer quite naked, except for a cloth worn 
about the loins, and now in winter they hang duffels over 
themselves. They have coal black hair, but the Swedish 
children born here have snow white hair, etc. I was once 
dining with W. Penn when one of their kings was sitting 
with us at table, when W. Penn said to him (for he could 




90 The Settlement of Germantown. 

speak their language pretty readily) that I was a German, 
etc. He came on the 3rd of October, as also on the 12th 
of December there came another king and queen to my 
house. In like manner many of the common people come 
over to me very often to whom I almost always show my 
regard by a piece of bread and drink of beer, by which an 
affection is in turn aroused in them, and they everywhere 
call me German and Carissimo (that is Brother). N. B. 
Their speech is manly and partakes a little of the gravity 
of the Italian, as I had thought, etc. Concerning their 
nature and character, one must divide them, so to speak, 
into those who have for some time been in communication 
with the socalled Christians, and those who have just 
begun to creep out of their holes. Now the former are 
crafty and deceitful, for which they have to thank 'the 
above-mentioned mouth-Christians, semper enim aliquid 
haeret. Such a one recently offered me his belt as a 
pledge and assurance that he would bring me a turkey, 
but he brought me instead an eagle and tried to persuade 
me that it was a turkey, etc. When I assured him how- 
ever that I had seen more eagles, he motioned to a Swede 
who was standing by, that he had done it to deceive, with 
the idea that we had just come to the country, and I would 
probably be not well acquainted with such birds. Another 
one tried the brandy in my flask thus : he stuck his finger 
in, and then stuck it into the fire, to see if there was water 
mixed with it, etc etc. The latter, on the other hand are 
of an honest nature, harm no one, and we have nothing at 
all to fear from them. One thing recently sank deep into 
my heart when I thought of the earnest warning of our 
Saviour that we His disciples should take no thought for 
the morrow, because thus the heathen do. Alas, thought 
I to myself, how everything is reversed ! If we Christians 



Health of Settlers. 91 

had not provided for a month or more, how discouraged 
we would be ! While these heathen cast their care on God 
with such wonderful trustfulness. Just then I was watch- 
ing four of them eating together, the earth was at once 
their table and bench, pumpkins cooked in pure water, 
without butter or seasoning, their only dish, their spoons 
were mussel-shells, from which they supped the warm 
water, and their plates were oak leaves, which they did not 
have to wash after the meal, nor to take care of in case they 
needed them again. Ah, worthy friend, let us learn from 
these people the blessedness of fearing nothing, that they 
may not put us to shame one day before the judgment stool 
of Jesus Christ, etc etc. 

Of the persons who came here with me already half a 
dozen have died, but I and mine have throughout the whole 
time been in healthy condition, with good appetites, except 
that Isaac Dilbeck for eight days has been somewhat 
poorly, and Jacob Schumacher on the 1st of October cut 
his foot badly with an axe and could not work for a week, 
etc. Of the people from Crefeld, no one has died except 
the aged mother of Herman op de Graef, who having had 
enough of these earthly vanities, soon after her arrival 
here went to enjoy the heavenly bliss. Abraham Tunes' 
(our tenant's) wife was lying very ill in my little house for 
more than two months, was for a long while unconscious, 
but improved gradually from day to day. 

Now concerning the land bought : This is divided into 
three kinds, namely fifteen thousand acres together in one 
piece, along a navigable water. In the second place, three 
hundred acres in the City Liberties which strip of land is 
between the Delaware and Scollkill. Thirdly, three lots 
in the city to build houses upon. When, after my arrival, 
I went to W. Penn to make out warrants for the said three 



92 The Settlement of Germantown. 

kinds, and to take them into possession, his first answer 
was concerning this ; 

i. The three lots in the town and the three hundred acres 
in the Liberties could not come to them because they were 
bought after he W. Penn had already started from Eng- 
land, and the books at London were closed, etc., but after 
I had represented to him that they were the forerunners 
of all Germans, and therefore to have more consideration 
etc, he let me measure off at the edge of the town three 
adjacent lots, from his younger son's portion. 



etc. 12 ii, 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 i 

The double line represents the Delaware River, on which 
the town lies, the numbers, the following houses, and farm 
houses: i. Schwed Schwan. 2. The Lutheran Church. 
3. The Pastor's house. 4. An English man. 5. Schwed 
Anders. 6. Will Penns youngest son. 7. The 
8. Philip Fort. 9. The Society and their Trading house. 
10. The Inn of the blue Anchor. 11. James Claypoole. 
12 etc. are other houses whose naming is here unnecessary. 
They lie thus along the Delaware, for it is a wide street, 
upon which follows our first lot, one hundred feet wide and 
four hundred long, at the end of which comes a street, then 
our second lot, also of the same width and length. Further 
another street and then our third lot. Thus there can be 
built upon each one two houses in front, and two behind, 
directly alongside of each other, in all twelve houses upon 
the three lots, with their courts, properly, all of which front 
upon the street etc. But we must necessarily build, within 
two years, in order that such lots be not lost, three houses, 
that is one on each lot. I have already upon the first, together 



Lands. 



93 



with our servant put up a little house one-half under the earth 
and half above, which is indeed only thirty feet long, and 
fifteen broad, but when the people from Crefeld were lodg- 
ing with me, it could accommodate twenty persons. Upon 
the window made of oiled paper, over the door I wrote, 
Parva Domus sed arnica bonis procul este profani ! — , which 
W. Penn read not long ago and was pleased with. Be- 
sides this I dug a cellar seven feet deep, twelve wide, and 
twenty long, on the Delaware stream, and am now busy 
building a stable. All three lots are cleared of the trees, 
which I have been cutting down nightly for some nights 
past, and I am going to sow them with Indian corn. N. B. 
It is especially difficult and costly to clear all the land, 
but we cannot do without it on account of the horses, cattle, 
and pigs which run loose. Also one cannot the first year 
in such a new land raise rye, only Indian (or as you call 
it Turkish) corn, which neither tastes as good nor satisfies. 
(2) Concerning the three hundred acres in the city Lib- 
erties, I have given W. Penn much pressure and especially 
urged that B. Furly had promised them in sale to us, etc. 
But for a long while he would not agree to it because none 
had been set aside for city Liberties when he was in Eng- 
land, except to purchasers of five thousand acres among 
whom the Germans were not included. At last only a few 
days ago, when I again delivered a memorial to him, he 
gave me the friendly answer that he from special favor, 
would have me receive those three hundred acres, but that 
he would have nothing more sold to any one, whosoever 
he might be, again, after the closing of the books. So I 
intend as soon as possible to start Indian corn here on these 
three hundred acres (which are not half an hour's distance 
from this town) in order the better to keep cows and pigs, 
and to raise more produce, and thus to help those who 
come after me. 



94 The Settlement of Germantown. 

(3) In regard to the fifteen thousand acres, two great 
difficulties present themselves, namely that W. Penn does 
not want to give them all in one tract, so that so great an 
extent of land will not be desert and vacant ; also he does 
not want it along the Delaware River, where everything is 
already taken up by others. However, after I had many 
times by word of mouth as well as by writing represented 
that it would be very prejudicial for us and our German 
descendants, to be put under the English and had shown 
him the communications of B. Furly and his letters to W. 
Penn, in which he had promised other things to our nation, 
etc, he at last granted in a warrant that we should have 
our land altogether, in case we would, within a year's 
time, place thirty families upon the fifteen thousand acres, 
namely three townships, each of ten households, in which 
the three which are already here, are to be reckoned, (but 
in case there are not thirty families, he will not promise to 
give the land all in one tract). I for my part would well 
wish that we might have a separate little province, and be 
so much the more free from all oppression. Now if one 
of you might be free in himself to come here, and bring 
with him so many families, your own good would be in- 
comparably advanced thereby. He, W. Penn said to me 
just day before yesterday, substantially that in this case, 
he would favor you before all English men who have al- 
ready bought, but are not yet here, and would grant cer- 
tain privileges to our new Franckenland (as he called the 
land assigned to us). But if it turned out to be too diffi- 
cult to transport so many families in so short a time, my 
earnest suggestion would hold good, that the friend from 

should take from you a few thousand acres, and help 

hither several households from their great overflow, in 
order that the fifteen thousand acres should remain undi- 



Gcrmantown . 



95 



vided, and not occasional English neighbors come between 
us ; at the same time he will not give it too far away from 
his town, namely on the Scollkill above the Falls, where 
he himself expects to build a house, and to set up for him- 
self a little dominion. The land along the river is rather 
hilly, and not good for the cultivation of the vine, but 
further in it is level and fruitful. The greatest trouble is 
that one cannot go above the falls and rocky cliffs with 
any boat except after heavy rains, and then not without 
danger, etc. Now in the meantime I could not know 
what you might decide to do about it ; also, about these 
oftmentioned fifteen thousand acres. They cost thirty-eight 
pound sterling, that is five shillings for every hundred acres, 
according to the measurement of this country, which money 
I had not at hand, and must wait until I had heard your in- 
structions in order not to overstep the limits of my power 
of attorney. But that I might show the three families 
which had arrived to their six hundred acres I have taken 
up together with the Crefelders (who bought eighteen 
thousand acres and being all of them here could not get 
their land in one tract), six thousand acres in one town- 
ship, of which they have three thousand, and we three 
thousand. This town I founded on the 24th of October, 
and called it Germantown. It lies only two hours from 
here, upon fruitful soil, and near pleasant springs, which 
I have already mentioned. This I had to do because W. 
Penn would give to no one his portion separately, but all 
must dwell together in townships or towns, and this not 
without excellent reasons, the most important of which, is 
that in this way the children are kept at school, and are 
much more conveniently trained well. Neighbors also 
offer each other a kind and helping hand, and with united 
voices, can in open assembly praise and honor and mag- 



g6 The Settlement of Germantown. 

nify God's goodness. N. B. You can therefore appropri- 
ate only one hundred acres to the families which you bring 
over in the future, and still have almost as much inherit- 
ance etc. 

In regard to my household, I should like to arrange it 
in good German style in which Jacob Schumacher and the 
old Swiss are very serviceable, but the Hollanders, who 
are with me, are not of much use in it, especially the maid 
who will not agree to live with the English one ; The latter 
will leave, because she cannot get along so well with her 
two children, or take them to another husband. I very 
much desire as soon as possible to bring here a German 
maid, whom I can trust better than I can do now, alas ! 

Now, if you wish that your hope should not be disap- 
pointed, send only Germans, for the Hollanders (as sad 
experience has taught me) are not so easily satisfied, which 
in this new land is a very necessary quality, etc. I have 
no carpenter among my servants. There must be a few 
sent therefore, for the building of houses, and it may be of 
use to you to know in making your contract with them, 
that the daily wages here are much lowered, and they 
receive no more daily, beside their board, than two Kopf- 
stiicke, although most of them do not work for that, and 
prefer to leave the country. N. B. There is a certain 
pay fixed for all tradesmen. Also the half of the mer- 
chant's goods must be gain although indeed there is proba- 
bly little profit to be made by these in two or four years as 
the Society is sufficiently aware ; for (i) every new comer 
brings with him so many clothes and goods that he needs 
nothing for several years. (2) There is here very little 
money while the desire for it with many is so much the 
greater. On the sixteenth of November there was a yearly 
market in our Philadelphia at which however I spent only 



Trades. 97 

a few pounds sterling. (3) One can find no return at all 
of goods from this country to England, etc. W. Penn in- 
tended very especially to establish weaving and vine cul- 
ture. Send us, therefore, when you have a good oppor- 
tunity some good vines of whose bearing there will be no 
doubt. — Item. All kinds of field and garden seeds, espe- 
cially lentils and millet, etc. Also N. B. some large iron 
cooking pots and some double-boilers ; item, one iron 
stove ; because the winters here are mostly as cold as with 
you and the rough north wind much stronger. Item, some 
bed covers or mattresses, as I brought no more with me 
than just what I needed and have already taken one more 
servant. Finally will you also send here some pieces of 
Barchet and Osnaburg linen cloth. It can be sold with 
great advantage, etc. A tanner can begin his trade with 
great advantage as we can obtain enough skins in the 
country around us, exchanging one dressed for two un- 
dressed and also keep the best for a pair of shoes etc. But 
a certain amount of capital must be employed for it ; and 
then, through a little money scattered in a short time a 
rich harvest would be reaped. Reflect on this with due 
consideration. The two most necessary things are 1, to 
build upon the lots in this town comfortable houses, which 
may be leased for a good deal of money, and yearly twelve 
per cent, may be made, 2, to found a tile bakery for which 
W. Penn has promised to give us a suitable place, for as 
long as we bake no stone, our building is entirely of wood. 
Other tradesmen may still wait several years etc. etc. 

To the four questions I give these brief answers; (1) 
W. Penn has laid a good foundation for a wise rule and 
published from time to time useful la,ws. (2) He keeps 
up neighborly friendship with all governors around him. 
He also hopes that the threatening contention with Baldi- 



98 The Settlement of Germantoivn. 

mor will as soon as possible be brought to a close and re- 
moved by royal decree. (3) The said W. Penn is loved 
and praised by all people ; even the old vicious inhabitants 
must recognize that they have never seen such a wise ruler. 
Oh, what strong and impressive sighs this dear man sent 
up on the first day of this again recurring New Year 
on high and to the throne of our Emmanuel, because the 
true Philadelphia and brother love is not to be met with as 
freely in this our Philadelphia, as he on his part desires, 
and for the furthering of which he is industriously working 
like a true father of his country. (4) The Indians (of 
whose nature some little is stated in the foregoing) de- 
crease in numbers here daily and withdraw several hun- 
dred miles farther into the country etc. 

Now perhaps you might ask whether I with a clear, un- 
biased conscience would advise one and another of you to 
travel hither. I answer with careful reflection that I would 
very gladly from my heart have the advantage of your dear 
presence : nevertheless if (1) you do not find in yourselves 
the freedom of conscience and (2) you cannot resign your- 
selves to the difficulties and dangers of the long journey 
and (3) to the lack of most comforts to which you have 
been accustomed in Germany such as stone houses, agree- 
able food and drink etc. for one or two years, then follow 
my advice and remain yet awhile where you are ; but if 
these above-mentioned considerations do not seem too hard 
to you, then go, the sooner the better, out of the European 
Sodom and think then of Lot's wife who indeed went for- 
ward with her feet but left behind her heart and inclina- 
tions. Oh, worthy friend, I wish indeed that with this 
eagle's plume I could express to you the love I feel for you 
and indeed convince you that it is not a mere lip love but 
one which wishes more good to you than to myself. My 



Indian Coin. po 

heart is bound unto yours in a bond of love. Let us now 
grow together like trees which the right hand of God has 
planted by streams of water so that we bring forth not only 
leaves but fruit at the proper time, the fruit of repentance, 
the fruit of peace, the fruit of justice. For of what ad- 
vantage is such a useless tree, although the Gardener 
spares it for some years longer, digs and works about it with 
all care, he at last when it shows no improvement cuts 
it down and casts it into the fire. Forgive me this com- 
parison, dear friend. We find here daily such unfruitful 
trees and cut them down and use them for firewood. It is 
entirely a heartfelt warning which can do no harm. I 
recommend you altogether to the divine influence without 
which our fruitfulness is imperfect. May the Lord who 
has given the will give also the fulfilment ! Amen. 

I send enclosed a sample of the Indian coin in common 
use here, of which six white ones and three black ones 
make an English farthing ; and now certain Indians will 
sell nothing more for silver money but will only be paid 
in their own coin, because they for the most part are leav- 
ing this country and want to retire several hundred miles 
into the woods. Then they hold certain superstitions that 
just as many Indians must die annually as there are Euro- 
peans who come here, etc. 

Now I have to state this, according to the measure of my 
duty, and I take the greatest care to be truthful, of which 
W. Penn and other honest people as well as my own con- 
science, which I prize more than thousands, can give irre- 
proachable witness. That it is pretty hard for me in this 
expensive country, almost without provisions to take care of 
so many servants and dependents, you can easily imagine ; 
but trust in our Heavenly Father overcomes all things. 

Give my hearty greeting to all my other acquaintances. 



ioo The Settlement of Germantown. 

Letter from Joris Wertmuller. 67 

March 16th, 1684. 

The blessing of the Lord be all times with you, dearly- 
beloved brother-in-law, Benedict Kunts, and your house- 
hold companion and all good friends who shall inquire 
for me, and especially all those who are from the land 
of Berne. Through the Blessing of God I greet you all 
very heartily, giving you to know that I arrived here in 
good health, and God be praised ! — find myself still very 
well, earnestly wishing that I may receive the same infor- 
mation concerning you. 

The city of Philadelphia covers a great stretch of country, 
and is growing larger and larger. The houses in the 
country are better built than those within the city. The 
land is very productive, and raises all kinds of fruits. All 
kinds of corn are sown. From a bushel of wheat, it is said, 
you may get sixty or seventy, so good is the land. You can 
keep as many cattle as you wish, and there is provender 
enough for them and as many swine as you want, since 
there are multitudes of oak trees, which produce an abund- 
ance of acorns to make them fat, and other wild nuts. You 
find here householders who have a hundred cows and in- 
numerable hogs, so that a man can have as much pork as 
he wants. There are all kinds of wild animals, such as 
deer, roes, etc ; all kinds of birds, some tame and others 
wild, by the thousand, together with an exceptionally great 
quantity of fish. The land lies in a good climate and is 
very healthy. You seldom see mists or fogs. There are 
many great and small rivers that are navigable, beautiful 
springs, fountains, mountains and valleys. The farmers 
or husbandmen live better than lords. If a workman will 



Biography of Hendrick Paanebecker, p. 27. 



Needs of the Voyage. 101 

only work four or five days in a week, he can live grandly. 
The farmers here pay no tithes nor contributions. What- 
ever they have is free for them alone. They eat the best 
and sell the worst. You can find as many wild vineyards 
as you wish, but no one troubles himself to look after their 
safety or take care of them. The vines bear so many 
bunches that from one vine many hundred bottles of wine 
should be made. Handicraftsmen earn here much money, 
together with their board and drink, which are very good. 
The natives or Indians are blackish like the heathen, who 
through Germany and Holland have disappeared. They 
are stronger and haidier than the Christians, and very mild. 
They go almost entirely naked, except that they cover their 
loins. They use no money, except kraaltjes and little shells 
like those one finds on the bridles of the train horses in 
Holland. If any one is inclined to come here, let him look 
for a good ship-master, since he cannot believe everything 
that they say. The freight from England to Pensilvania 
is five pound sterling, about fifty-six Holland guldens, but I 
should advise you rather to go with a Holland shipmaster 
to Manhates, formerly called New Amsterdam, and now 
New York, two or three days' journey from Pensilvania, 
and I should advise you to take with you what you need 
upon the ship, especially brandy, oranges, lemons, spices 
and sugar since the sea maybe very trying. See that you 
are well supplied with clothes and linen, and it will be 
better than to have money, since what I bought in Holland 
for ten guldens, I here sold again for thirty guldens ; but 
you must not buy too dear. 

I have written to my brother in Amsterdam that he 
send me a chest full of clothes. If you or any one else 
from the Hague, come here and are willing to bring it 
along and take care of the transportation, I shall compen- 



102 The Settlement of Germantown. 

sate you well for your trouble. So if you bring or send to me 
here one or two of my sons who are with my brother I shall 
pay all the costs. If anyone can come here in this land at 
his own expense, and reaches here in good health, he will 
be rich enough, especially if he can bring his family or 
some man-servants, because servants are here dear. Peo- 
ple bind themselves for three or four years' service for a 
great price, and for women they give more than for men 
because they are scarce. A good servant can place 
himself with a master for a hundred guldens a year and 
board. 

Brother-in-law B. K., if you come into these regions 
bring a woman with you, and if you bring two for me, 
Joris Wertmuller, I shall be glad, because then we shall live 
like lords. My brother, who lives in Amsterdam, is named 
Jochem Wertmuller. He lives in Ree Street in the Three 
Gray Shoes. I have many more things to write to you, 
but time does not permit. Meanwhile I commend you all 
to God the Father Almighty, through our Lord and Sa- 
viour Jesus Christ. Amen. 

I, Joris Wertmuller, Switzer by birth, at present in Pen- 
silvania. 

N. B. If anyone comes in this land or wishes to write 
letters, let them be addressed to Cornelius Bom in Pensil- 
vania, in the city of Philadelphia, cake baker, who used to 
live in Haarlem in Holland, and who came here in the 
same ship with me and knows where in the country I 
dwell. 

Letter from Cornelius Bom, October 12, 1684. 
Jan Laurens, well beloved friend : 

I duly received yours of the 22nd of April, 1684, and 
have read it through with heartfelt pleasure, as an evi- 



Bom and Telner. 103 

dence of your love to me and to the Lord. Well, Jan, I 
have not forgotten you since I have been away from you, 
but you have many times been in my thoughts. I have 

Miffive van 

CORNELIS BOM, 

Gefchreven uit cte Stadt 

PHILADELPHIA. 

In de Provincie van 

PENNSYLVANIA, 

Leggende op d'Ooftzyde van de 

Zn'yd fcevicr van Nieuw ^Jedcdand. 

yerhalende de groote Voortgfiftk 
vajide fclve Provintie. 
Wtxt bp feomt 
De Getuygenis van 

JACOB TELNER. 

van Anifterdam. 




Tot K^tto-dam gedrykc , by Pieter v&i 
Wijnbruggc, in dc Leeuweftraec i^8 = 

not written to you, but remembered you in the letter I sent 
to Rotterdam. My business has been urgent, and I have 
had little time for writing many letters. You want to 



104 The Settlement of Germantown. 

know how it goes with me here, and how I like it, and 
whether things are prosperous with the people, and you 
want to learn the condition of the country. Concerning 
these things I should answer you briefly and truthfully as 
follows : the country is healthful and fruitful, and the con- 
ditions are all favorable for its becoming through the 
blessing of the Lord and the diligence of men a good 
land — better than Holland. It is not so good now but 
daily grows better and better. The increase here is so 
great that, I believe, nowhere in history can be found such 
an instance of growth in a new country. It is as if the 
doors had been opened for its progress. Many men are 
coming here from many parts of the world, so that it will 
be overflowed with the nations. Our Governor's authority 
is respected by all and is very mild, so that I trust the 
Lord will bless this land more if we continue to walk in 
his way. The people in general have so far been pros- 
perous in their business, so that those who are industrious 
daily expect to do better and have reason to live in hope ; 
but many have found it hard to get along, especially those 
who did not bring much with them and those who went 
into the land to clear it for themselves and did not go to 
work for hire by the day. Many of those who have sat 
down to their trades alone 68 have had it somewhat hard. 
Carpenters and masons have got along the best. During 
the first year or two men spent what they had saved, but 
now almost everything is improving. As for myself, I 
went through and endured great difficulties, unaccustomed 
hardships and troubles before I got as far as I am now, 
but now I am above many, in good shape, and do not 
consider that I have less of my own than when I left Hol- 

6S So that people who are far from the city can obtain necessary accom- 
modations. 



Prosperity . 105 

land, and am in all respects very well-to-do. I have here 
a shop of many kinds of goods and edibles ; sometimes I 
ride out with merchandise and sometimes bring something 
back, mostly from the Indians, and deal with them in many 
things. I have no servants except one negro whom I 
bought. I have no rent or tax or excise to pay. I have a 
cow which gives plenty of milk, a horse to ride around, 
my pigs increase rapidly, so that in the summer I had 
seventeen when at first I had only two. I have many 
chickens and geese, and a garden and shall next year have 
an orchard if I remain well ; so that my wife and I are in 
good spirits and are reaching a condition of ease and pros- 
perity in which we have great hopes. But when we first 
came it was pretty hard in many respects. Those who 
come now come as in the summer in what there is to be 
done, since now anything can be had for money. The 
market is supplied with fresh mutton and beef at a reason- 
able price, in a way that I would have not thought could 
have occurred in so short a time. Sometimes there is a 
good supply of partridges for half a stuiver apiece, 
pigeons, ducks and teals, and fish in great quantities 
in their seasons. There are not many roads yet made 
in order to receive from and bring to market, but these 
things are now beginning to get into order. In a few 
years, if it continues in the same way, everything 
here will be more plentiful than in other lands. The 
commerce and trade are close at the door, to the Bar- 
bados, Bermudas and other West India Islands that will 
bring this country into a good condition. Time will best 
show this to be the case. Nevertheless I do not advise 
any one to come here. 69 Those who come ought to come 



69 And in this he acts wisely and with foresight, for how could any one 
in such a matter, especially if unrequested, give advice : for it may hap- 



106 The Settlement of Germantown. 

after Christian deliberation, with pure intentions in fear of 
the Lord, so that the Lord may be their support, for be- 
fore a man here reaches ease he must exercise great 
patience, resignation and industry, the one as much as the 
others. Therefore, whoever comes, let him come with a 
constant mind, having his eyes fixed upon the commands 
of the God above him. This none can do except those 
who have the Lord with them in the matter and so are 
cleansed from fleshly and worldly views and they have 
good counsel by them in all things. 

It is hard to them, if trials come, they look to the Lord 
and are clear in themselves, so that to them all things are 
for the best. For my own part I have no regrets that I 
came here, but all the while we have a good hope that 
everything was sent for my good, and being clear be- 
fore the Lord that I have had no views which dis- 
pleased him, and having faith in the great God over the 
sea and the land. He has not forgotten me, but has shown 
his fatherly care over me and mine. Truly he is a God 
over those who are upright of heart and looks upon many 
of their weaknesses leniently. 

So, my dearly beloved friend, not knowing whether I 
shall see your face in the flesh again, I take my leave of 
you for the present in the tender love of our Father who has 
shown his love for us through his Son, the true light through 
which he daily seeks to unite us with him. O great love 
of our God ! O let us not forget or think little of him, but 
daily answer him by submitting ourselves to his wishes and 

pen to one well to another badly, and no one affair, land, place, state or 
manner of living is equally pleasant to all. It is not a vain proverb 
which says an affair may be equally open to all men but the outcome be 
very different. So that he who such a journey undertakes does well to 
consider whether he is able to endure the possibilities of failure as well as 
of success. 



Jacob Tclner. 107 

the power of his mercy which he shows us ! O let us hold 
him here in love, and above all remember him and cling 
to him ! O that we might daily perceive, that our hearts 
more and more cling to the Lord ! That we still more and 
more might be united with him in that his spirit might wit- 
ness that we are his children, and so his heirs ! Then shall 
we be able to say with the Apostle Paul that we know 
whenever this earthly house is broken, we have a building 
with God everlasting in Heaven. O great cause worthy of 
consideration above all causes ! 

So, true friend, I commend you to the Lord and to his 
word of mercy, which is mighty to build up you and me 
to the end. So with love, I remain your unchangeable 
friend, 

Cornelius Bom. 

In Philadelphia, the 12th of October, 1684. 

Here are it is supposed, four hundred houses great and 
small. 



Information from Jacob Telner, of Amsterdam. 

Jacob writes to me that he supposes there are many who 
are desirous of knowing how he and his family are and 
how it had fared with them, and requesting* me to inform 
such persons briefly out of his letters. He says that they 
have had a long and hard voyage (that is to say, to New 
York, hitherto New Amsterdam) ; that they were twelve 
weeks under way, others having made the trip in five, six, 
or seven weeks ; that they had very contrary winds and 
calms ; that they therein found and experienced remarkably 
the presence and protection of the Lord ; that on their 
arrival they were received by all their acquaintances with 
much love and affection ; that his wife has now forgotten 



108 The Settlement of Germantown. 

the hardships of the sea ; that he found it a very pleasant 
country, overflowing with everything (that is to say, in New 
York, where he was), where people can live much better 
and with less expense than in Holland ; that if men are 
industrious in what they undertake, and live in a Christian 
manner, they need not work many days in the week ; that 
he had heard a good report of Pennsylvania ; and that 
there was a very wonderful increase in the production of 
everything in proportion to the time, although it was im- 
possible in a short time to have things as abundant as in 
New York ; that when he went to Pennsylvania he hoped 
to give a true report of everything there. Since then he 
made a journey there and has again returned to New York. 
He writes, December 12, 1684, that he found a beautiful 
land with a healthy atmosphere, excellent fountains and 
springs running through it, beautiful trees from which can 
be obtained better firewood than the turf of Holland, and 
that in all things it might be considered an exceptionally 
excellent land, and that those who belittle it are unworthy 
of attention ; that Philadelphia grows rapidly, having al- 
ready several hundred houses of stone and wood and cot- 
tages ; that he, with his family, intends to move there in the 
spring, and further, that he is very well, and that his wife 
and especially his daughters are in good health and fat. 70 

Letter of Johann Samuel and Heinrich Pastorius. 

On the 4th of March, 1699, Johann Samuel and Hein- 
rich Pastorius, the one nine and the other seven years of 
age, wrote this letter to their grandfather in Windsheim : 
" Dearly Beloved Grandfather : 

To withstand thy overflowing love and inclination to us, 

70 These letters from Bom and Telner in Dutch were printed in Rotter- 
dam in 1685. But one copy is known. 



Seeking a Pedigree. 109 

our father says is as impossible as to swim against the 
stream which neither of us two is able to do. We give our 
heartfelt thanks for it, and as for the little picture you sent 
over to us we never saw anything like it before. There is 
an unknown bird in it whose tail is bigger than himself. It 
is like, we are told, those proud people from whose faults 
may God protect us. There is also a little boy in a red 
coat who fell from a globe of the world. Whether this 
was so slippery or whether the poor child did not know 
how to hold himself up we shall perhaps learn by experi- 
ence when we have grown older. The rhymes you wrote 
on the back of it pleased our parents very much and they 
wish that we shall never forget them especially the close 
of the verse. 

Christum Jesum recht zu lieben 
Und in Guten uns zu uben. 

We often wish that we were with thee or that thou lived 
here in our house in Germantown which has a beautiful 
front garden and at this time stands empty because we are 
in Philadelphia and must spend eight hours every day in 
school except the last day of the week when we can stay 
home in the afternoon. Since we cannot now have the 
hope that we will see our dear grandfather here with us 
we pray thee to give us some account of thy origin and 
our elders. So that if one of us should by God's will, 
go to Germany we can ask after our relations. Will 
thee also give our friendly greeting to our dear cousins 
and aunts and show them this so that they often write 
letters to us which after our father leaves the world 
will be very pleasant to us and we shall not fail through the 
help of other pious people to continue the correspondence. 

Meanwhile we greet thee again most lovingly wishing 
from our hearts that you have every earthly and eternal 



no 



The Settlement of Germantown. 



good and remain through life under God's true protection, 
dear Grandfather, 

Thy obedient grandchildren, 

Johann Samuel and 
Henricus Pastorius." 

To this request for information concerning his ante- 
cedents the pleased grandfather replied, and thus happily 
through the inquiry of these boys was preserved much of 
the information we possess relating to the family. 71 

71 Pastorius Beschreibung, p. 101. 




Seal of William Penn. 




CHAPTER V. 



Kriegsheim. 




Arms of the Palatinate. 



C\'f N addition to the emi- 
^JJ gration from Crefeld, 
^— ^ and the association at 
Frankfort, there was a third 
impulse which was of mo- 
ment in the settlement of 
Germantown. On the up- 
per Rhine, two hours' jour- 
ney from Worms, one of the 
most interesting and his- 
toric cities of Germany, the 
scene in our race legends of the events of the Nibelungen- 
lied, later the home of Charlemagne, and hallowed as the 
place where Luther uttered the memorable words " So hilf 
mich Gott, hier stehe ich. Ich can nicht anders," lies the 
rural village of Kriegsheim. It is situated in the midst of 
the beautiful and fertile Palatinate and is forever identi- 
fied in its traditions, religion and people, with our Penn- 
sylvania life. When I was there, in 1890, it had a popu- 
lation of perhaps two or three hundred people who lived 
upon one street. About it were the remains of an an- 
cient wall, and within it was an old-time hostelry, in 
whose stable the village gauger watched over his hogs- 

iii 



112 



The Settlement of Germantown. 



heads of wine, the representatives of an important local in- 
dustry. In this obscure and distant village of simple Ger- 
man peasants we trace the ancestry of many of the ladies 
who now dance in the assemblies of Philadelphia, and 
many of the men who have been her mayors and judges and 
filled her most important municipal stations, 
v/ Quakerism obtained a foothold upon the continent in a 
most remarkable manner. Some of the followers of that 
then aggressive sect had been banished to the Island of 
Barbados, and had been put upon a British vessel to be 

transported. England and 
Holland were then at war 
and after the vessel had 
sailed out to sea it was cap- 
tured by a Dutch privateer, 
and the useless Quakers 
were put on shore on the 
coast of Holland. As we are 
prettily told by the chron- 
icler, " They acquiesced in 
their poverty," and though 
they had been in no repute 
among their own people, 
either for riches or endow- 
ments, " they increased their small fortunes to a consider- 
able bulk," and like the trees and plants "the which the 
more they were shaken with the winds, the deeper and 
faster root they take," they propagated their doctrines in 
Holland and Germany. 72 

The meetings established were visited by preachers sent 
out by Fox, among others by William Ames, who spoke 
Dutch and German. In 1657 Ames and George Rolfe 




Shoes of the Early Palatines. 



'Gerhard Croese's History of the Quakers. Book 2, p. 15. 



Creese's History. 



"3 



;djrtrt>$!wefett$ 




er= 




iff orte / 




onbeteniirfprung/ 

bi$ auf juttgftljm tntfbtibcnt 

Zrcntmng; 

_ armnett twrttemfttf) twit 

fccit Jpaupf fliffcrn inefer iSecft/ 
frerfelberi £eF>rfdgeii/ttnb anbereti 

ifpe$3!etc&eftsu ftefct gettmif* 
sebrac&tett £ef)ren/ triplet 

Berlin/ 
6co 3$«m SBNc&ae! SJW&feem. 



114 The Settlement of Germantown. 

went to Kriegsheim and succeeded in making some con- 
verts among the Mennonites living there. It was the 
farthest outpost of Quakerism in Germany and was cher- 
ished by them with the most careful zeal. The conversion 
of seven or eight families was the reward of their indefa- 
tigable energy and effort. This success alarmed the 
clergy and incited the rabble " disposed to do evil, to 
abuse those persons by scoffing, cursing, reviling, throw- 
ing stones and dirt at them, and breaking their windows." 
The magistrates directed that any one who should enter- 
tain Ames or Rolfe should be fined forty rix dollars. In 
1658, for refusing to bear arms, the goods of John Hen- 
dricks to the value of fourteen rix dollars were seized and 
he was put in prison. In 1660, for the same reason, his 
goods valued at about four and-half rix dollars were seized. 
In 1663 the authorities took from him two cows, and from 
Hendricks Gerritz two cows, from the widow of John 
Johnson a cow, from George Shoemaker bedding worth 
seven rix dollars, from Peter Shoemaker goods worth two 
guilders. In 1664 George Shoemaker lost pewter and 
brass worth three and a-half guilders, Peter Shoemaker 
three sheets worth three guilders, and John Hendricks 
three sheets worth three guilders. In t666, John Shoe- 
maker, Peter Shoemaker and John Hendricks each lost 
a cow. 73 William Caton paid a visit to them in 1661, and 
on the 30th of Eleventh Month wrote from there a letter 
to friends in London in which he says, that the Catholic, 
Lutheran and Calvinist clergy regarded them " as the 
offensivest, the irregularest, and the perturbatiousest people 
that are of any sect." He helped them "to gather their 
grapes, it being the time of vintage." 

Stephen Crisp says in July, 1669 : " But the Lord pre- 

73 Besse's Sufferings of the Quakers. Vol. II., p. 450. 



Creese's History. 



"5 



Gerardi CroesI 

HISTORIA 

QUAKERIANA, 

Sivc 

Dc vulgo di&is Q^UAKERIS > 

Ab orta illorum ufbue ad rec£ns 
aatum fchiirna , 

L i g a i III, 

In quibus prsefertim aglmr dte ipfo- 

jrurfi pHtcipuis anteccfioribus , Sc dogmau* 

( ut be fimilibus placins aliorum hoc 

rempore} ft&ifcjue ac Cifibus ; . 

mimorabilibu . 




AMSTELODAM1, 
Apud Henricum &' Viduata 
The odor i Boom. i6p?. 



1 1 6 The Settlement of Germantown. 

served me and brought me on the 14th day of that month 
to Griesham near Worms, where I had found divers who 
had received the Everlasting Truth and had stood in a 
testimony for God about ten years, in great sufferings and 
tribulations, who received me as a servant of God ; and 
my testimony was as a seed upon the tender grass unto 
them. I had five good meetings among them and divers 
heard the truth and several were reached and convinced 
and Friends established in the faith." Just at this time 
they were in sore trouble because of the fact that the 
Prince of the land, or Pfaltzgraff, had imposed an unusual 
fine of four rix dollars upon every family for attending 
meetings, and upon failure to pay, goods of three times 
the value were taken. Crisp went to Heidelberg to see 
the Prince and warned him of the danger of persecution. 
The Prince received him graciously, discoursed with him 
about general topics, and promised him that the fines 
should be remitted, which was accomplished. 74 

On the 22d of August, 1677, William Penn left Frank- 
fort on his way to Kriegsheim. The magistrate of the 
village, upon the instigation of the clergyman, attempted 
to prevent him from preaching, but with the friends there 
and a " coachful from Worms," he had a quiet and com- 
fortable meeting. From there he walked to Mannheim, in 
an effort to see the Prince concerning the oppressions of 
the Quakers, which had been renewed. Failing to find 
him, he wrote to him a vigorous letter upon the subject. 
On the 26th Penn walked out from Worms, six English 
miles, and held a meeting, lasting five hours, in the course 
of which " The Lord's power was sweetly opened to many 
of the inhabitants." He describes them as " Poor hearts; 
a little handful surrounded with great and mighty countries 

74 Travels of Stephen Crisp, p. 29. 



Creese's History. ny 



•* • -.> "• 



i . ■ i ■ 1 1 



T HE 

General Hiftory 

F T H E 

QUAKERS: 

CONTAINING 

TheLives,Tencnts,Sufferings,TryaIs, 
Speeches, arid Letters , 

Of all the moil 2^sf 

Eminent Quakers, 

Both Men and Women; 

From the firft Rife of that SECT, 
down to this prefent Time. 



Colkftedfrom Maitvfcripts, occ. 



A Work mver attempted before in Englifh. 



Being Written Originally in Lhtin 
By GERARD CRO&SE. 



To which is added, 

A L E T T E R writ by George Ksltb , 

and fent by him to the Author of this 
Book : Containing a Vindication of himfelfjand 
feveral Remarks on this Hiftory. 



LONDON, Printed for 3Iofjn IDuntoif, at the £*£<* 
in Je'wen-Jirtet. \6$6. 



I . . 



ii 8 The Settlement of Germantozvn. 

of darkness." The meeting was held in a barn. The 
magistrate listened from behind the door and subsequently- 
reported that he had discovered no heresies and had heard 
nothing that was not good. On the 27th, after two more 
meetings, Penn, accompanied by several grateful attend- 
ants, returned to Worms. 

The climax of the story of the Quaker meeting at 
Kriegsheim is given by Croese. He says that having 
nothing of their own to lose, and hearing of the great 
plenty in America, and hoping to gain a livelihood by 
their handiwork, they in the very year that preceded the 
war with the French " wherein all that fruitful and de- 
licious country was wasted with fire and sword " forsook 
the cottages which could scarcely be kept standing with 
props and stakes, and entered into a voluntary and per- 
petual banishment to Pennsylvania, where they lived in the 
greatest freedom and with sufficient prosperity. 

Jacob Schumacher, the servant who accompanied Pas- 
torius, may have been one of the family at Kriegsheim, 
but up to the present time no evidence of the fact has been 
discovered. It is not improbable. 

Oct. 12, 1685, having crossed the sea in the " Francis and 
Dorothy" there arrived in Germantown Peter Schumacher 

with his son Peter, his 

// j /? s? daughters Mary, Frances 

•M^T*^ ftfC\7 tr * i & yi * and Gertrude, and his 
£/ ^^^ cousin Sarah ; Gerhard 

Hendricks with his wife 
Mary, his daughter Sarah and his servant Heinrich Frey, 
the last named from Altheim, in Alsace. Peter Schu- 
macher, an early Quaker convert from the Mennonites is 
the first person definitely ascertained to have come from 
Kriegsheim. Fortunately we know under what auspices 



Gerhard Hendricks Deivces. 



119 



he arrived. By an agreement with Dirck Sipman, of Cre- 
feld, dated August 16th, 1685, he was to proceed with the 
first good wind to Pennsylvania, and there receive two hun- 
dred acres from Hermann Op den Graeff, on which he 
should erect a dwelling, and for which he should pay a rent 
of two rix dollars a year. 75 Gerhard Hendricks also had 
bought two hundred acres from Sipman. 76 He came from 
Kriegsheim, and I am inclined to think that his identity may 
be merged in that of Gerhard Hendricks Dewees. If so, he 
was associated with the Op den Graeffs and Van Bebbers, 
and was a grandson of Adrian Hendricks Dewees, a Hol- 
lander, who seems to have lived in Amsterdam. 77 This iden- 
tification, however, needs further investigation. Dewees 
bought land of Sipman, which his widow, Zytien, sold in 
1 701 . The wife of Gerhard Hendricks in the court records 
is called Sytje. On the tax list of 1693 there is a Gerhard 
Hendricks, but no Dewees, though the latter at that time 
was the owner of land. Hendricks after the Dutch manner 
called one son William Gerrit? and another Lambert Gerrits, 
and both men, if they were two, died about the same time. 
Much confusion has resulted from a want of familiarity on 
the part of local historians with the Dutch habit of omitting 
the final or local appellation. Thus the Van Bebbers are 
frequently referred to in contemporaneous records as Jacob 
Isaacs, Isaac Jacobs and Matthias Jacobs, the Op den 
Graeffs as Dirck Isaacs, Abraham Isaacs and Herman 
Isaacs ; and Van Burklow as Reynier Hermanns. 

On the 20th of March, 1686, Johannes Kassel, a weaver, 
and another Qjiaker convert from the Mennonites, aged 
forty-seven years, with his children, Arnold, Peter, Eliza- 

75 See his deed in Dutch in the Germantown book. 

76 Deed book E 4, vol. 7, p. 1S0. 
77 Raths-Buch. 



i2o The Settlement of Germantozvn. 

beth, Mary and Sarah, came to Germantown from Kriegs- 
heim, having purchased land from members of the Frankfort 
Company. In the vessel with Kassel was a widow, Sarah 
Shoemaker, from the Palatinate, and doubtless from Kriegs- 
heim, with her children, George, Abraham, Barbara, 
Isaac, 78 Susanna, Elizabeth and Benjamin. Among the 
Mennonite martyrs mentioned by Van Braght there are 
several bearing the name of Schoenmaker, and that there 
was a Dutch settlement in the neighborhood of Kriegsheim 
is certain. At Flomborn, a few miles distant, is a spring 
which the people of the vicinity still call the " Hollander's 
Spring." 

I have a Dutch medical work published in 1622, which 
belonged to Johannes Kassel ; many Dutch books from the 
family are in the possession of that indefatigable antiquary, 
Abraham H. Cassel, and the deed of Peter Schumacher is 
in Dutch. The Kolbs, who came to Pennsylvania later, 
were grandsons of Peter Schumacher, and were all earnest 
Mennonites. The Kassels brought over with them many 
of the manuscripts of one of their family, Ylles Kassel, a 
Mennonite preacher at Kriegsheim, who was born before 
1618, and died after 1681, and some of these papers are 
still preserved. The most interesting is a long poem in 
German rhyme, which describes vividly the condition of 
the country, and throws the strongest light upon the char- 
acter of the people and the causes of the emigration. 
The writer says that it was copied off with much pain and 
bodily suffering November 28, 1665. It begins: 

"O Lord! To Thee the thoughts of all hearts are 



73 He married Sarah, only daughter of Gerhard Hendricks. Their son 
Benjamin, and their grandson Samuel, were successively Majors of Phil- 
adelphia, and a great-granddaughter was the wife of William Rawle. I am 
indebted for some of these facts to the kindness of W. Brooke Rawle, Esq. 



War in the Palatinate. 121 

known. Into Thy hands I commend my body and soul. 
When Thou lookest upon me with Thy mercy all things 
are well with me. Thou hast stricken me with severe ill- 
ness, which is a rod for my correction. Give me patience 
and resignation. Forgive all my sins and wickedness. 
Let not Thy mercy forsake me. Lay not on me more than 
I can bear," and continues, " O, Lord God ! Protect me 
in this time of war and danger, that evil men may not 
do with me as they wish. Take me to a place where I may 
be concealed from them, free from such trials and cares. 
My wife and children too, that they may not come to shame 
at their hands. Let all my dear friends find mercy from 
Thee." After noting a successful flight to Worms, he goes 
on, " O dear God and Lord ! to Thee be all thanks, honor 
and praise for Thy mercy and pity, which Thou hast 
shown to me in this time. Thou hast protected me from 
evil men as from my heart I prayed Thee. Thou hast led 
me in the right way so that I came to a place where I was 
concealed from such sorrows and cares. Thou hast kept 
the way clear till I reached the city, while other people 
about were much robbed and plundered. I have found a 
place among people who show me much love and kind- 
ness. . . . Gather us into Heaven of which I am un- 
worthy, but still I have a faith that God will not drive me 
into the Devil's kingdom with such a host as that which 
now in this land with murder and robbery destroys many 
people in many places, and never once thinks how it may 
stand before God. . . . Well it is known what misery, 
suffering, and danger are about in this land with robbing, 
plundering, murdering and burning. Many a man is 
brought into pain and need, and abused even unto death. 
Many a beautiful home is destroyed. The clothes are torn 
from the backs of many people. Cattle and herds are 



122 The Settlement of Germantown. 

taken away. Much sorrow and complaint have been heard. 
The beehives are broken down, the wine spilled.' 79 

On the road leading from Worms out through Kriegs- 
heim, but perhaps five miles further from the city, is the 
village of Flomborn. Thither, about twenty years before 
the period we are considering, a Dutch family named 
Pannebakker, whose arms, three tiles gules on a shield 
argent, were cut in glass in the church window at Gorcum 
in Holland, came to escape the wars still raging in the 
Netherlands. There March 21, 1674, was born Hendrick 
Pannebecker. He came as a young man to German- 
town, where, in 1699, he married Eve, the daughter of 
Hans Peter Umstat. He was a man of education, writing 
a dainty script and possessing a knowledge of the Dutch, 
German and English languages and of mathematics. He 
became the owner of four thousand and twelve acres of 
land in the province, and as a surveyor for the Penns, he 
ran the lines for their manors and laid out most of the old 

roads in Philadel- 
phia, now Mont- 
gomery County. 
He died suddenly 
April 4, 1754. He founded here a large and influential 
family, which gave to the war of the rebellion two 
major generals, four colonels, an adjutant general, 
two surgeons, a lieutenant colonel, two assistant sur- 
geons, an adjutant, nine captains, seven lieutenants, a 
quartermaster, a hospital steward, five sergeants, nine 
corporals and one hundred privates, altogether one hun- 
dred and forty-five men, so far as known, the most exten- 
sive contribution of any single American family to that 
struggle. 

79 These papers belong to A. H. Cassel, his descendant. 



4«^wutar vv^f ^-jMfvvx wjv (tflrtjAfifH 




CHAPTER VI. 
The Growth of the Settlement. 




I 



[T was the wish of the 
Germans, when they 
made their purchase 
from William Penn, that 
their lands should all be laid 
out in one tract and upon a 
navigable stream. When 
they arrived here they were 
offered a location upon the 
Schuylkill, where are now 
Manayunk and Roxbor- 
ough. They objected to 
the hills and asked for the 
ground to the eastward, where it was more level. The 
request was granted and on the 24th of October, 1683, 
Thomas Fairman measured off fourteen lots. The fol- 
lowing day the thirteen families selected by chance the 
places of their new homes, and at once began to dig the 
cellars and erect the huts in which, with some hardship, 
they spent the winter. Pastorius reported that the new 

80 From Townsend Ward's Walk to German town, Penna. Magazine, 
Vol. V., upon what authority unknown. 

123 



124 The Settlement of Germantown. 

town of Germanopolis was located upon a rich black soil, 
well supplied with springs, that the main street was sixty 
feet wide, the cross street forty feet wide, and that each 
family had three acres of ground. It was covered with 
oak, chestnut and other nut trees, and there was a good 
meadow for the cows. Whichever way we turn, he wrote, 
" Itur in antiquam Sylvam," it is all overgrown with 
woods, and he often wished that he had a pair of strong 
Tyrolers to cut down the thick oak trees. On the 20th of 
February, 1684, the land was again surveyed by Fairman 
and a thousand acres which stretched to the Schuylkill 
were cut off. Since the contract was that their land was 
to be upon a ship-bearing stream, it looks as though some- 
body was taking an advantage of them. A more accurate 
survey, December 29th, 1687, determined the quantity of 
land in Germantown to be five thousand seven hundred 
acres, and for this a patent was issued. It was divided 
into four villages : Germantown with two thousand seven 
hundred and fifty acres, Crisheim (Kriegsheim) with eight 
hundred and eighty-four acres, Sommerhausen with nine 
hundred acres, and Crefeld with one thousand one hundred 
and sixty-six acres, and thus were the familiar places along 
the Rhine commemorated in the new land. 

Other emigrants ere long began to appear in the little 
town. Cornelius Bom, a Dutch baker, whom Claypoole 
mentions in association with Telner and who bears the 
same name as a delegate from Schiedam to the Mennonite 
Convention at Dordrecht arrived in Philadelphia it maybe 
with Pastorius. David Scherkes, perhaps from Muhlheim 
on the Ruhr, and Walter Seimens and Isaac Jacobs Van 
Bebber, both from Crefeld, were in Germantown Novem- 
ber 8th, 1684. Van Bebber was a son of Jacob Jsaacs Van 
Bebber and was followed here a few years later, 1687, by 
his father, and brother Matthias. About the same time 



Jacob Telner. 125 

Pastorius wrote that the floors were laid for sixty-four 
houses. Jacob Telner, the second of the original Crefeld 
purchasers to cross the Atlantic reached New York, after 
a tedious voyage of twelve weeks' duration, and from there 
he wrote, Dec. 12, 1684, t0 J an Laurens, of Rotterdam. 
He seems to have been the central figure of the whole 
emigration. As a merchant in Amsterdam his business 
was extensive. He had transactions with the Qjiakers in 
London and friendly relations with some of the people in 
New York. One of the earliest to buy lands here, we find 
him meeting Pastorius immediately prior to the latter's de- 
parture, doubtless to give instructions, and later personally 
superintending the emigration of the Colonists. During 
his thirteen years' residence in Germantown his relations 
both in a business and social way with the principal men 
in Philadelphia were apparently close and intimate. Penn 
wrote to Logan in 1703, " I have been much pressed by 
Jacob Telner concerning Rebecca Shippen's business in 
the town," 81 and both Robert Turner and Samuel Carpenter 
acted as his attorneys. He and his daughter Susanna 
were present at the marriage of Francis Rawle and Martha 
Turner in 1689, and witnessed their certificate. The har- 
monious blending of the Mennonite and the Quaker is 
nowhere better shown than in the fact of his accompanying 
John Delavall on a preaching and proselyting tour to New 
England in 1692. 82 He was the author of a " Treatise " in 
quarto mentioned by Pastorius, and extracts from his letters 
to Laurens were printed at Rotterdam in 1685. 83 About 
1692 he appears to have published a paper in the contro- 

S1 Penn Logan Correspondence, Vol. I., p. 1S9. 

82 Smith's History, Hazard's Register, Vol. VI., p. 309. Smith adopts him 
as a Friend, but in his own letter of 1709, written while he was living 
among the Quakers in England, he calls himself a Mennonite. 

83 The Treatise is described by Pastorius in the enumeration of his 
library. MS. Hist. Society. 



126 The Settlement of Germantown. 

versy with George Keith, charging the latter with "Im- 
pious blasphemy and denying the Lord that bought him." 84 

He was one of the first burgesses of Germantown, the 
most extensive landholder there, and promised to give 
ground enough for the erection of a market house, a 
promise which we will presume he fulfilled. In 1698 he 
went to London, where he was living as a merchant as late 
as 17 1 2, and from there in 1709 he wrote to Rotterdam 
concerning the miseries of some emigrants, six of whom 
were Mennonites from the Palatinate, who had gone that 
far on their journey and were unable to proceed. " The 
English Friends who are called Quakers," he says, had 
given material assistance. 85 Doubtless European research 
would throw much light on his career. He was baptized 
at the Mennonite Church in Amsterdam, March 29, 1665. 
His only child, Susanna, married Albertus Brandt, a mer- 
chant of Germantown and Philadelphia, and after the 
death of her first husband in 1701 she married David Wil- 
liams. 86 After deducting the land laid out in Germantown, 
and the two thousand acres sold to the Op den Graeffs, 
the bulk of his five thousand acres was taken up on the 
Skippack, in a tract for many years known as " Telner's 
Township." 87 

In an original letter in my possession, written in Amster- 
dam 17th of 5th month, 1678, by Peter Hendricks to Roger 
Longworth, it is said: " And (to speake it is familiarity 
to thee) we have also some feare concerning Jacob Tell- 
ner ; he is prettie high and it does not diminish but in- 
crease, but my heart's desire is that he may be preserved." 



84 A true account of the Scence and advice of the People called Quakers. 
85 Dr. Scheffer's paper in the Penna. Magazine, Vol. II., p. 122. 
86 Exemp. Record, Vol. VII., p. 208. 
87 Exemp. Record, Vol. VIII., p. 360. 



THE SETTLEHENT OF GERMA/NTOW/N. 



tfcftifri ^inih'r mv!:i'n C omet Mem/ porf^tfi ivtU tub tjeqhpftordoltetditfr inutY 
iltnbf i>er u<'artu> im£> K'j efyctflVrtjfjejf iV/ ObservAtory in Scr\\\\tcn cutfi>er 
Molten m>u(rnhfra Obstrvirl urfjj JW OuqetCa eft elf . 




THE QREAT COMET OF 168O. 

(FROM CONTEnPORftRY ENCRflUmC.) 



Jacob Telner. 



127 



It appears from Keith's True accotmt, London, 1694, that 
Telner had printed a catechism " in which said paper he 







v*-*. 






tfa» «J».« /-,*-.-** -4>Q*.L*^, iffp! QZ-tf: *sijfe- *+?*■ ~%S?/ /**->-£ '$*'jC*9-' — 










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positively asserteth gross Antinomian Doctrines and Princi- 
ples, as that men's sins are forgiven them when Christ 
died on the Cross." 



128 The Settlement of Germantown. 

In 1684 also came Jan Willemse Bockenogen, a Quaker 
cooper from Haarlem. 88 

October 12, 1685, there arrived in the ship " Francis 
and Dorothy " Heinrich Buchholz and his wife Mary, and 
Hans Peter Umstat, from Crefeld, with his wife Barbara, 
his son, John, and his daughters, Anna Margaretta and 
Eve. Umstat was the son of Nicholas Umstat, who died 
at Crefeld at four o'clock on the morning of October 4, 
1682. He had bought two hundred acres from Dirck Sip- 
man, which were laid out in Germantown toward Plymouth, 
and there he spent the remainder of his days. Among 
the possessions he brought across the seas with him was a 
Bible, printed at Nuremberg in 1568, which had belonged 
to his father, Nicholas, at least since 1652, and which I 
inherited through his daughter Eve. In it, in addition to 
the family entries, are among others the following: "In 
the year 1658 the cold was so great that even the Rhine 
was frozen up. On the 31st of January so great a snow 
fell that it continued for four days. There was no snow 
so great within the memory of man," and " December 16, 
1680, the Comet Star with a long tail was seen for the first 
time." The comet which so impressed him is the one that 
appeared in the time of Caesar, and with a period of about 
five hundred years, is the most imposing of those known 
to astronomers. In 1685 came also Heivert Papen and 
about the same time Klas Jansen. Occasionally we catch 
a glimpse of the home life of the early dwellers in Ger- 
mantown. Willem Streypers, in 1685, had two pairs of 
leather breeches, two leather doublets, handkerchiefs, 
stockings and a new hat. 

The first man to die was Jan Seimens, whose widow was 
again about to marry in October, 1685. 89 Bom died before 

88 Among his descendants was Henry Armitt Brown, the orator. 
89 Pastorius' Beschreibung, Leipsic, 1700, p. 23, Strejper MSS. 



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129 



1689, and his daughter Agnes married Anthony Morris, 
the ancestor of the distinguished family of that name. 90 In 
1685 Wigard and Gerhard Levering came from Muhlheim 
on the Ruhr, 91 a town also far down the Rhine, near 
Holland, which, next to Crefeld, seems to have sent the 
largest number of emigrants. The following year a fire 
caused considerable loss, and a little church was built at 
Germantown. According to Seidensticker it was a Qjaaker 
meeting house, and he shows conclusively that before 1692 
all of the original thirteen, except Jan Lensen, had in one 
way or another been associated with the Quakers. In 
1687 Arent Klincken arrived from Dalem, in Holland, and 
Jan Streypers wrote: "I intend to come over myself," 
which intention he carried into effect before 1706, as at 
that date he signed a petition for naturalization. 92 All of 

9P AshmeadMSS. 

91 Jones' Levering Family. 

92 Jan Strepers and his son-in-law, H. J. Van Aaken, metPenn at Wesel 
in 1686, and brought him from that place to Crefeld. Van Aaken seems 
to have been a Quaker Sept. 30th, 1699, on which day he wrote to Penn : 
" I understand that Derrick Sypman uses for his Servis to you, our Mag- 
istrates at Meurs, which Magistrates offers their Service to you again. So 
it would be well that you Did Kyndly Desire them that they would Leave 
out of the High Dutch proclomation which is yearly published through- 
out ye County of Meurs & at ye Court House at Crevel, that ye Quakers 
should have no meeting upon penalty, & in Case you ffinde freedom to De- 
sire ye sd Magistrates at Meurs that they may petition our King William 
(as under whose name the sd proclomation is given forth) to leave out ye 
word Quackers & to grant Leberty of Conscience, & if they should not 
obtaine ye same from the said King, that then you would be Constrained 
for the truth's Sake to Request our King William for the annulling of ye 
sd proclomation Concerning the quackers, yor answer to this p. next 
shall greatly oblige me, Especially if you would write to me in the Dutch 
or German tongue, god almayghty preserve you and yor wife In soule 
and body. I myself have some thoughts to Come to you but by heavy 
burden of 8 Children, &c, I can hardly move, as also that I want bodyly 
Capacity to Clear Lands and ffall trees, as also money to undertake some- 
thing Ells." An English translation of this letter in the handwriting of 
Matthias Van Bebber is in my collection. 



130 The Settlement of Germantown. 

the original Crefeld purchasers, therefore, came to Penn- 
sylvania sooner or later, except Remke and Sipman. He, 
however, returned to Europe, where he and Willem had an 
undivided inheritance at Kaldkirchen, and it was agreed 
between them that Jan should keep the whole of it, and 
Willem take the lands here. The latter were two hundred 
and seventy-five acres at Germantown, fifty at Chestnut 
Hill, two hundred and seventy-five at the Trappe, four 
thousand four hundred and forty-eight in Bucks County, 
together with fifty acres of Liberty Lands and three city 
lots, the measurement thus considerably overrunning his 
purchase. 

About 1687 came Jan Duplouvys, a Dutch baker, who 
was married by Friends ceremony to Weyntie Van Sanen, 
in the presence of Telner and Bom, on the 3d of 3d month 
of that year. Dirck Keyser, a silk merchant doing busi- 
ness in Printz Gracht, opposite Rees Street, in Amsterdam, 
and a Mennonite, connected by family ties with the lead- 
ing Mennonites of that city, arrived in Germantown by 
way of New York in 1688. If we can rely upon tradition, 
he was a descendant of that Leonard Keyser, the friend 
of Luther, who was burned to death at Scharding in 1527, 
and who, according to Ten Cate, was one of the Walden- 
ses. 93 Long after his coming to Germantown he wore a 
coat made entirely of silk, which was a matter for disap- 
proval, if not a subject for envy. His father was Dirck 
Gerritz Keyser, a manufacturer of morocco, and his grand- 
father was Dircksz Keyser. His mother was Cornelia, 
daughter of Tobias Govertz Van den Wyngaert, one of 
the most noted of the early Mennonite preachers, the 
learned author of a number of theological works, of whom 
there is a fine portrait by the famous Dutch engraver A. 
Blootelingh. Here seems to be an appropriate place to 

93 See Pennypacker Reunion, p. 13. 



THE SETTLEHE/NT OF GERHANTOWN. 




ENQRAVED COPPERPLATE OF D1RCK KEYSER. 



Date of birth of Mcnno. 131 

record a bibliographical incident of real value which de- 
serves to be preserved. For many years the scholars of 
Europe, interested in the period of the Reformation, had 
disputed over the dates of the birth and death of Menno 
Simons, one coterie contending for 1492-1559 and their 
opponents for 1496-1561. One of the principal authori- 
ties was Gerhard Roosen, a preacher of Hamburg, who 
lived to a great age and died in the beginning of the 18th 
century, and whose testimony was regarded as of impor- 
tance because his grandmother had personally known 
Menno. But the whole subject was left in vague uncer- 
tainty. In 188 1 a man in Ohio wrote to me that he had 
an old book, for which he wanted two dollars. It came, 
and behold ! it turned out to be a copy of the works of 
Menno, printed in 1646, which had belonged to Gerhard 
Roosen, and in his hand, written in 167 1, in his 60th year, 
was an account of a visit which he, with Tobias Govertz 
Van den Wyngaert and Peter Jans Moyer had made to 
the grave of Menno. It proceeded to say that he was 
born in 1492 and died in 1559, and was buried in his own 
cabbage garden. These facts were at once embodied in 
a paper by Dr. J. G. DeHoop Scheffer, the historian of 
the Reformation in Holland, which was printed in Amster- 
dam, and thus was the New World able to furnish informa- 
tion which settled an Old World historical controversy. 
Who wrote the letters of Junius may yet find an answer 
here. 

The residents in 1689, not heretofore mentioned, were 
Paul Wolff, a weaver from Fendern in Holstein, near 
Hamburg ; Jacob Jansen Klumpges, Cornelius Siverts, 
Hans Millan, Johan Silans, Dirck Van Kolk, Hermann 
Bom, Hendrick Sellen, Isaac Schaffer, Ennecke Kloster- 
mann, from Muhlheim, on the Ruhr ; Jan Doeden and An- 
dries Souplis. Of these Siverts was a native of Friesland, 



132 The Settlement of Germantown. 



Opera Menno5ymons> 

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DAT IS. 

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by gevoecht, ende elck Boeck jnec iijn eygen Tijrel, 

Prologe ende Voor-rcden,getrouwelijck in onfe 

Nederduytfche Spraccke gcftelc 

pfalm 3730. 

Den Mont der gerechtigen fpreeckt van wijfocyt, tndefijn lippen van 

Oordeclen , dc Wctftjns Godts is in ftjn herte,ffjn treden 

en Jlipperen met. 




Gedrackt in *t Jaer ons Heeren, Anno 1646. 



THE SETTLEHE/NT OF GERMA/NTOW/N. 




TOBIAS GOVKRT52 vaiiJcnWTTNGAERT Bcdienat 

■ jpzindo jjcmecnte tot AmTfcrdani 



...If.--. .• . 



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Etatis L x x x 



TOBIAS GOUERTSZ VANDEN WYNQAERT. 

FROfl A CONTEnPORflRY PRINT BY A. BLOTELINGM. 



Settlers. 133 

the home of Menno Simons. 94 Sellen, with his brother 
Dirk, were Mennonites from Crefeld, and Souplis was ad- 
mitted a burgher and denizen of the city of New York, 
with a right to trade anywhere in his Majesty's dominions. 
The antecedents of the others I have not been able to as- 
certain. Hendrick Sellen was very active in affairs at Ger- 
mantown, being the attorney in fact for Jan Streypers, 
gave the ground for the Mennonite church there, was a 
trustee for the church on the Skippack, and in 1698 made 
a trip across the sea to Crefeld, carrying back to the old 
home many business communications, and, we may well 
suppose, many messages of friendship. August 22, 1709, 
he had a pint of wine and a roll with Pastorius. He was 
naturalized in 1709, and owned two hundred and ninety- 
one and a-half acres of land, on which he built an oil mill 
in 1 7 14, but before April 16, 1739, he had sold it and re- 
moved to Komupoango, in Pennsylvania. An effort at 
naturalization in 1691 adds to our list of residents Reynier 
Hermanns Van Burklow, Peter Klever, Anthony Loof, 
Paul Kastner, Andris Kramer, Jan Williams, Herman Op de 
Trap, Hendrick Kasselberg,from Backersdorf,in the county 
of Brugge, and Klasjansen. The last two were Mennonites, 
Jansen being one of the earliest preachers. Op deTrap, or 
Trapman, as he is sometimes called, appears to have 
come from Muhlheim, on the Ruhr, and was drowned at 
Philadelphia in 1693. GisbertWilhelms diedtheyearbefore. 
John Goodson, writing to his friends John and S. Dew in 
London, the 24th of 6th mo., 1690, says : " And five miles 
off is a town of Dutch and German people that have set up 
the linnen manufactory which weave and make many 
thousand yards of pure fine linnen cloth in a year, that in 
a short time I doubt not but the country will live happily." 95 

94 Raths Buch. 

95 Some Letters . . . from Pennsylvania, London, 1691. 



134 The Settlement of Germantozvn. 

In 1692 culminated the dissensions among the Qjiakers 
caused by George Keith and the commotion extended to 
the community at Germantown. At a public meeting 
Keith called Dirck Op den Graeff an " impudent rascal " — 
and since the latter was a justice of the peace in the right 
of his position as a burgess of Germantown it was looked 
upon as a flagrant attack upon the majesty of the law. 
Among those who signed the testimony of the yearly meet- 
ing at Burlington 7th of 7th mo., 1692, against Keith, 
were Paul Wolff, Paul Kastner, Francis Daniel Pastorius, 
Andries Kramer, Dirck Op den Graeff and Arnold Kassel. 
The certificate from the Quarterly meeting at Philadelphia, 
which Samuel Jennings bore with him to London in 1693, 
when he went to present the matter before the Yearly 
Meeting there, was signed by Dirck Op den Graeff, Rey- 
nier Tyson, Peter Schumacher and Caspar Hoedt. Pas- 
torius wrote two pamphlets in the controversy. On the 
other hand, Abraham Op den Graeff was one of five per- 
sons who, with Keith, issued the Appeal, for publishing 
which William Bradford, the printer, was committed, and 
a testimony in favor of Keith was signed by Hermann Op 
den Graeff, Thomas Rutter, Cornells Siverts, David 
Scherkes and Jacob Isaacs Van Bebber. 96 The last named 
furnishes us with another instance of one known to have 
been a Mennonite acting with the Friends, and Sewel, the 
Qjiaker historian, says concerning Keith: " And seeing 
several Mennonites of the County of Meurs lived also in 
Penna., it was not much to be wondered that they who 
count it unlawful for a Christian to bear the sword of the 
magistracy did stick to him." 

Caspar Hoedt, then a tailor in New York, married there 
6th mo. 1 2th, 1686, Elizabeth, eldest daughter of Nico- 



' Potts' Memorial, p. 394. 



Letters from Pennsylvania. 135 

Some 

LETTERS 



AND AN 



ftbftratt 01 





FROM 

PENNSYLVANIA^ 

Containing 

The State and Improvement of that 

Province- 

Pudli/hedto prevent Mif" Reports* 



■Mm& 



Printed, andSold.by Andrei? Sbwe, arths Croohd'Billavvi Hollo*. 
Way-Lanei \n$hoHditchj l6£l* 



136 The Settlement of Germantown. 

las De la Plaine and Susanna Cresson, who were French 
Huguenots. James De la Plaine, a relative and probably 
a son of Nicolaes, came to Germantown from New York 
prior to August 28th, 1692, on which day he was married 
by Friends' ceremony to Hannah Cook. Susanna, a 
daughter of Nicolaes, became the wife of Arnold Kassel 
9th mo. 2d, 1693. 97 

On the 2d of November, 1693, Paul Wolff conveyed a 
half acre on the east side and another half acre on the west 
side of the street "for a common burying place." In 
1694 it was determined that on the " 13th and 14th days of 
the 3d and 4th months a fair or open year market shall be 
held, and such shall be written to the printer in New York 
to have it put in his almanac." 98 

A tax list made by order of the Assembly in 1693 names 
the following additional residents, viz : Johannes Pettinger, 
John Van de Woestyne and Paulus Kuster. Kuster, a 
Mennonite, came from Crefeld with his sons Arnold, Jo- 
hannes, and Hermannus, and his wife Gertrude. She was 
a sister of Wilhelm Streypers. He was by trade a mason 
and he died in 1707. 

In 1695 Isaac Ferdinand Saroschi, a Hungarian, the 
first of a long line of late followers, who had formerly been 
a preceptor in the house of Tobias Schumberg at Winds- 
heim, came to Germantown, but after wandering around 
for two years causing trouble and " Hungarorum more nur 
eleemosinas et donativa colligiret " he returned to Europe 
with no very good opinion of the country. 

George Gottschalck from Lindau, Bodensee, Daniel 
Geissler, Christian Warmer and Martin Sell were in Ger- 
mantown in 1694, Levin Harberdinck in 1696, and in 1698 



97 Notes of Walter Cresson. 
98 Rath's Buch. 



THE SETTLEHE/NT OF GERM AMTOW/N. 




lHFRlNT OF REYNIER JANSEN. 
PHILADELPHIA. 1699. 



Reynier Jansen. 137 

Jan Linderman came from Muhlheim, on the Ruhr. Dur- 
ing the last year the right of citizenship was conferred 
upon Jan Neuss, a Mennonite and silversmith," Willem 
Hendricks, Frank Houfer, Paul Engle, whose name is on 
the oldest marked stone in the Mennonite graveyard on 
the Skippack under date of 1723, and Reynier Jansen. 
Though Jansen has since become a man of note, abso- 
lutely nothing seems to have been known of his anteced- 
ents, and I will, therefore, give in detail such facts as I 
have been able to ascertain concerning him. On the 21st 
of May, 1698, Cornelius Siverts, of Germantown, wishing 
to make some arrangements about land he had inherited in 
Friesland, sent a power of attorney to Reynier Jansen, lace 
maker at Alkmaer, in Holland. It is consequently mani- 
fest that Jansen had not then reached this country. On 
the 23d of April, 

1700, Benjamin /"^5? J&& 

Furly, of Rotter- < 2&&e<*Tpx^-r*~* "~ 
dam, the agent of /T 

Perm at that city, 

gave a power of attorney to Daniel and Justus Falkner to 
act for him here. It was of no avail, however, because as 
appears from a confirmatory letter of July 28th, 1701, a 
previous power " to my loving friend Reynier Jansen," 
lace maker, had not been revoked, though no intima- 
tion had ever been received that use had been made of 
it. It seems then that between the dates of the Siverts 
and Furly powers Jansen had gone to America. On the 
29th of November, 1698, Reynier Jansen, who after- 
ward became the printer, bought of Thomas Tresse twenty 




"Penn bought from him in 1704 a half-dozen silver spoons, which he 
presented to the children of Isaac Norris, while on a visit to the latter. — 
See Journal. 



138 The Settlement of Germantown . 

acres of Liberty Lands here, and on the 7th of February, 
1698-99, the right of citizenship, as has been said, was 
conferred by the Germantown Court upon Reynier Jan- 
sen, lace maker. These events fix with some definiteness 
the date of his arrival. He must soon afterward have re- 
moved to Philadelphia, though retaining his associations 
with Germantown, because ten months later, Dec. 23d, 
1699, he bought of Peter Klever seventy-five acres in the 
latter place by a deed in which he is described as a mer- 
chant of Philadelphia. This land he as a ■printer sold to 
Daniel Geissler Oct. 20th, 1701. Since the book called 
" God's protecting providence, etc.," was printed in 1699 it 
must have been one of the earliest productions of his press, 
and the probabilities are that he began to print late in that 
year. Its appearance indicates an untrained printer, and 
a meagre font of type. He was the second printer in the 
middle colonies, and his books are so rare that a single 
specimen would probably bring at auction now more than 
the price for which he then sold his whole edition. He 
left a son, Stephen, in business in Amsterdam, whom he 
had apportioned there, and brought with him to this coun- 
try two sons, Tiberius and Joseph, who, after the Dutch 
manner, assumed the name Reyniers, and two daughters, 
Imity, who married Matthias, son of Hans Millan, of 
Germantown, and Alice, who married John Piggot. His 
career as a printer was very brief. He died about March 
1st, 1706, leaving personal property valued at £226 is, 
8d., among which was included " a p'cell of books from 
Wm. Bradford £4 2s. od." 100 

We find among the residents in 1699, Evert In den 
Hoffen from Muhlheim on the Ruhr, with Hermann, Ger- 



100 RathsBuch. Exemp. Record, Vol. VI., p. 235. Deed Book E 7, p. 550. 
Germantown Book, pp. 187, 188. Will Book C, p. 22. 



THE SETTLEHE/NT OF CERflA/NTOW/N. 
AN 



of tjjfc 

..ft by WILL 

IOPR 



*»» 



€ 



.rnOii: ^ oi 

there i. -.ito belonging Advice 

)i the Frce-mm therjDi iti General!* 
Jjetably Uiett at 

^BW-CASTLE ' 

ay of OE^'ami Contmited by A J- 

iht- 1 \venty -Se-zwtith' oi Nez>e,;ib^ in. rbc 
rear t/oo. 



ited at Pb&Jdftuj by Reynier Junjc i 1701 
ABSTRACT OF LAWS FR1NTED BY REYNIER JANSEN 1701 



Settlers. 



139 



hard, Peter, and Anneke, who were doubtless his chil- 
dren, some of whom are buried in the Mennonite grave- 
yard on the Skippack. 

Four families, members of the Mennonite Church at 
Hamburg, Harmen Karsdorp and family, Claes Berends 
and family, including his father-in-law, Cornelius Claes- 
sen, Isaac Van Sintern and family, and Paul Roosen and 
wife, and two single persons, Heinrich Van Sintern and 
the widow Trientje Harmens started for Pennsylvania, 
March 5, 1700, and a few months later at least four of 
them were here. 101 Isaac Van Sintern was a great grand- 
son of Jan de Voss, a burgomaster at Hanschooten, in 
Flanders, about 1550, a genealogy of whose descendants, 
including many American Mennonites, was prepared in 
Holland over a hundred years ago. In 1700 also came 
George Muller and Justus Falkner, a brother of Daniel, 
and the first Lutheran preacher in the province. Among 
the residents in 1700 were Isaac Karsdrop and Arnold 
Van Vossen, Mennonites, Richard Van der Werf, Dirck 
Jansen, who married Margaret Millan, and Sebastian 
Bartlesen ; in 1701 Heinrich Lorentz and Christopher 
Schlegel ; in 1702 Dirck Jansen, an unmarried man from 
Bergerland, working for Johannes Kuster, Ludwig Chris- 
tian Sprogell, a bachelor from Holland, and brother of that 
John Henry Sprogell, who a few years later brought an 
ejectment against Pastorius, and feed all the lawyers of 
the province, Marieke Speikerman, Johannes Rebenstock, 
Philip Christian Zimmerman, Michael Renberg, with his 
sons Dirck and Wilhelm, from Muhlheim, on the Ruhr, 
Peter Bun, Isaac Petersen and Jacob Gerritz Holtzhooven, 
both from Guelderland, in Holland, Heinrich Tibben, 
Willem Hosters, a Mennonite weaver from Crefeld, Jacob 



101 Mennonitische Blatter, Hamburg. 



140 The Settlement of Germantown. 

Classen Arents, from Amsterdam, Jan Krey, Johann 
Conrad Cotweis, who was an interpreter'in New York in 
1709, and Jacob Gaetschalck, a Mennonite preacher; and 
in 1703 Anthony Gerckes, Barnt Hendricks, Hans Hein- 
rich Meels, Simon Andrews, Hermann Dors 102 and Cor- 
nelius Tyson. The last two appear to have come from 
Crefeld, and over Tyson, who died in 17 16, Pastorius 
erected in Axe's graveyard at Germantown what is, so far 
as I know, the oldest existing tombstone to the memory of 
a Dutchman or German in Pennsylvania. 103 

On the 28th of June, 1701, a tax was laid for the build- 
ing of a prison, erection of a market, and other objects for 
the public good. A weekly market was established "in 
the road or highway where the cross street of Germantown 
goes down to the Schuylkill." October 8, 1694, Jacob De 
la Plaine and Jacob Telner each gave a half acre for the 
purpose. 104 We are told that in 1701 there were in German- 
town "three score families, besides several single per- 
ons." 105 

As in all communities, the prison preceded the school 
house, but the interval was not long. December 30th of that 
year " it was found good to start a school here in German- 
town," and Arent Klincken, Paul Wolff and Peter Schu- 
macher, Jr., were appointed overseers to collect subscrip- 



102 << One Herman Dorst near Germantown, a Batchelor past 80 years of 
Age, who for a long time lived in a House by himself, on the 14th Instant 
there dyed by himself." — American Weekly Mercury, October 18th, 1739. 

103 It bears the following inscription : 

"Obijt Meiy 9, 1716 

Cornelis Tiesen 

Salic sin de doon 

Die in den Here sterve 

Theilric is haer Kroon 

Tgloriric haer erve." 
104 Collections of the Historical Society of Pa., Vol. 1, p. 274. 
105 Ibid., p. 283, Rath's Buch. 



THE SETTLEHENT OF GERNANTOWN. 




TOHBSTONE OF CORNELIUS TYSON. 

THE MOST RNCIENT If) GERnANTOWN. 



Skififiack. 141 

tions and arrange with a school teacher. Pastorius was 
the first pedagogue. As early as January 25, 1694-95, it 
was ordered that stocks should be put up for the punish- 
ment of evil doers. We might, perhaps, infer that they 
were little used from the fact that, in June, 1702, James 
De la Plaine was ordered to remove the old iron from the 
rotten stocks and take care of it, but alas ! December 30, 
1703, we find that "Peter Schumacher and Isaac Schu- 
macher shall arrange with workmen that a prison house 
and stocks be put up as soon as possible. 106 

February 10, 1702-3, Arnold Van Vossen delivered to 
Jan Neuss, on behalf of the Mennonites, a deed for three 
square perches of land for a church, which, however, was 
not built until six years later. 

In 1702 began the settlement on the Skippack. This 
first outgrowth of Germantown also had its origin at Cre- 
feld, and the history of the Crefeld purchase would not be 
complete without some reference to it. As we have seen, 
of the one thousand acres bought by Govert Remke, one 
hundred and sixty-one acres were laid out at Germantown. 
The balance he sold in 1686 to Dirck Sipman. Of Sip- 
man's own purchase of five thousand acres, five hundred 
and eighty-eight acres were laid out at Germantown, and 
all that remained of the six thousand acres he sold in 1698 
to Matthias Van Bebber, who, getting in addition five hun- 
dred acres and four hundred and fifteen acres by purchase, 
had the whole tract of six thousand one hundred and sixty- 
six acres located by patent, February 22, 1702, on the Skip- 
pack. It was in the present Perkiomen Township, Mont- 
gomery County, and adjoined Edward Lane and William 
Harmer, near what is now the village of Evansburg. 107 
For the next half century, at least, it was known as Beb- 



106 Rarh's Buch. 

107 Exemp. Record, Vol. I., p. 470. 



142 The Settlement of Germanto-wn. 

ber's Township, or Bebber's Town, and the name being 
often met with in the Germantown records has been a 
source of apparently hopeless confusion to our local his- 
torians. Van Bebber immediately began to colonize it, 
the most of the settlers being Mennonites. Among these 
settlers were Hendrick Pannebecker, Johannes Kuster, 
Johannes Umstat, Klas Jansen and Jan Krey in 1702 ; 
John Jacobs, in 1704; John Newberry, Thomas Wiseman, 
iCctwara .Beer, Gerhard and Hermann In de Hoffen, Dirck 
and William Renberg, in 1706; William and Cornelius 
Dewees, Hermannus Kuster, Christopher Zimmerman, 
Johannes Scholl and Daniel Desmond, in 1708; Jacob, 
Johannes and Martin Kolb, Mennonite weavers from Wolfs- 
heim, in the Palatinate, and Andrew Strayer, in 1709 ; 
Solomon Dubois, from Ulster County, New York, in 1716 ; 
Paul Fried, in 1727, and in the last year the unsold bal- 
ance of the tract passed into the hands of Pannebecker. 
Van Bebber gave one hundred acres for a Mennonite 
church, which was built about 1725, the trustees being 
Hendrick Sellen, Hermannus Kuster, Klas Jansen, Martin 
Kolb, Henry Kolb, Jacob Kolb and Michael Ziegler. 

The Van Bebbers were undoubtedly men of standing, 
ability, enterprise and means. The father, Jacob Isaacs, 
moved into Philadelphia before 1698, being described 
as a merchant in High street, and died there before 
1711. 108 Matthias, who is frequently mentioned by James 
Logan, made a trip to Holland in 1701, witnessing there 
Benjamin Furly's power of attorney, July 28th, and had 
returned to Philadelphia before April 13th, 1702. He re- 
mained in that city until 1704, when he and his elder 

108 He had three grandsons named Jacob, one of whom was doubtless the 
Jacob Van Bebber who became Judge of the Supreme Court of Delaware, 
Nov. 27th, 1764. 



THE SETTLEMENT OF GERM A/NTOW/N. 




















PORTRAIT OF ERASMUS BY ALBERT DURER. 

FROM THE COPT OF HIS WORKS BROUGHT TO GERMflNTOWN BY JOHANNES KOLB. 



The Van Bcbbers. 



*43 



brother, Isaac Jacobs, accompanied by Reynier Hermanns 
Van Burklow, a son-in-law of Peter Schumacher, and 
possibly others, removed to Bohemia Manor, Cecil 
County, Maryland. There he was a justice of the peace, 
and is described in the deeds as a merchant and a gentle- 
man. Their descendants, like many others, soon fell 
away from the simple habits and strict creed of their 
fathers ; the Van Bebbers of Maryland have been distin- 
guished in all the wars and at the bar ; and at the Falls of 
the Kanawha, Van Bebber's rock, a crag jutting out at a 
great height over the river, still preserves the memory and 
recalls the exploits of one of the most daring Indian 
fighters in Western Virginia. 




Arms of the Holy Roman Empire. 




CHAPTER VII. 

The Op den Graeff Brothers and the Protest 
against Slavery. 

ffljT' HERE was a rustic mur- 
O ) mur in the little burgh 
in the year 1688 which 
time has shown to have been 
the echo of the great wave 
that rolls around the world. 
The event probably at that 
time produced no commotion 
and attracted little attention. 
It may well be that the con- 
sciousness of having won im- 
mortality never dawned upon 
any of the participants, and 
yet a mighty nation will ever 
recognize it in time to come as one of the brightest pages 
in the early history of Pennsylvania and the country. On 
the 18th day of April, 1688, Gerhard Hendricks, Dirck 
Op den Graeff, Francis Daniel Pastorius and Abraham 
Op den Graeff sent to the Friends' meeting the first public 
protest ever made on this continent against the holding of 
slaves. A little rill there started which further on became 




144 



Protest Against Slavery. 145 

an immense torrent, and whenever hereafter men trace 
analytically the causes which led to Gettysburg and Ap- 
pomattox they will begin with the tender consciences of 
the linen weavers and husbandmen of Germantown. The 
protest is as follows : 

This is to ye Monthly Meeting held at Rigert Worrells. 
These are the reasons why we are against the traffick of 
mens-body as followeth : Is there any that would be done or 
handled at this manner? viz. to be sold or made a slave for 
all the time of his life ? How fearfull & fainthearted are 
many on sea when they see a strange vassel being afraid 
it should be a Turck, and they should be tacken and sold 
for Slaves in Turckey. Now what is this better done as 
Turcks doe ? yea rather is it worse for them, wch say they 
are Christians for we hear, that ye most part of such 
Negers are brought heither against their will & consent, 
and that many of them are stollen. Now tho' they are 
black, we cannot conceive there is more liberty to have 
them slaves, as it is to have other white ones. There is a 
saying, that we shall doe to all men, licke as we will be 
done our selves : macking no difference of what genera- 
tion, descent, or Colour they are. And those who steal or 
robb men, and those who buy or purchase them, are they 
not all alicke? Here is liberty of Conscience, wch is right 
& reasonable, here ought to be lickewise liberty of ye body, 
except of evildoers, wch is an other case. But to bring 
men hither, or to robb and sell them against their will, we 
stand against. In Europe there are many oppressed for 
Conscience sacke ; and here there are those oppressed wch 
are of a black Colour. And we, who know that men must 
not commit adultery, some do commit adultery in others, 
separating wifes from their housbands, and giving them to 
others and some sell the children of those poor Creatures 



146 The Settlement of Germantown. 

to other men. Oh, doe consider well this things, you who 
doe it, if you would be done at this manner? and if it is 
done according Christianity? you surpass Holland and 
Germany in this thing. This mackes an ill report inj all 
those Countries of Europe, where they hear off, that ye 
Qjiackers doe here handel men, Licke they handel there 
ye Cattle ; and for that reason some have no mind or in- 
clination to come hither. And who shall maintaine this 
your cause or plaid for it ! Truely we can not do so ex- 
cept you shall inform us better hereoff, viz. that christians 
have liberty to practise this things. Pray ! What thing in 
the world can be done worse towarts us then if men should 
robb or steal us away & sell us for slaves to strange 
Countries, separating housband from their wife & children. 
Being now this is not done at that manner we will be done 
at, therefore we contradict & are against this trafEck of 
men body. And we who profess that it is not lawfull to 
steal, must lickewise avoid to purchase such things as are 
stolen, but rather help to stop this robbing and stealing if 
possibel and such men ought to be delivred out of ye hands 
of ye Robbers and set free as well as in Europe. Then is 
Pensilvania to have a good report, in stead it hath now a 
bad one for this sacke in other Countries. Especially 
whereas ye Europeans are desirous to know in what 
manner ye Quackers doe rule in their Province & most of 
them doe loock upon us with an envious eye. But if this 
is done well, what shall we say, is don evil ? 

If once these slaves (wch they say are so wicked and 
stubbern men) should joint themselves, fight for their 
freedom and handel their masters & mastrisses, as they did 
handel them before ; will these masters & mastrisses tacke 
the sword at hand & warr against these poor slaves, licke 
we are able to believe, some will not refuse to doe? Or 



Protest Against Slavery. 147 

have these negers not as much right to fight for their 
freedom, as you have to keep them slaves? 

Now consider well this thing, if it is good or bad? and 
in case you find it to be good to handel these blacks at that 
manner, we desire & require you hereby lovingly that you 
may informe us herein, which at this time never was done, 
viz. that Christians have Liberty to do so, to the end we 
shall be satisfied in this point, & satisfie lickewise our good 
friends & acquaintances in our natif Country, to whose it 
is a terrour or fairfull thing that men should be handeld so 
in Pensilvania. 

This was is from our meeting at Germantown hold ye 
18 of the 2 month 1688 to be delivred to the monthly meet- 
ing at Richard Warrels. 

gerret hendricks 
derick op de graeff 
Francis daniell Pastorius 
Abraham op den graef. 109 



109 The Friends at Germantown, through William Kite, have recently 
had a fac-simile copy of this protest made. Care has been taken to give 
it here exactly as it is in the original, as to language, orthography and 
punctuation. The disposition which was made of it appears from these 
notes from the Friends' records : " At our monthly meeting at Dublin 
ye 30 2 mo. 1688, we having inspected ye matter above mentioned & con- 
sidered it we finde it so weighty that we think it not Expedient for us to 
meddle with it here, but do Rather comitt it to ye consideration of ye 
Quarterly meeting, ye tennor of it being nearly Related to ye truth, on 
behalfe of ye monthly meeting. signed, pr. Jo. Hart." 

"This above mentioned was Read in our Quarterly meeting at Phila- 
delphia the 4 of ye 4 mo. '88, and was from thence recommended to the 
Yearly Meeting, and the above-said Derick and the other two mentioned 
therein, to present the same to ye above-said meeting, it being a thing of 
too great a weight for this meeting to determine. 

Signed by order of ye Meeting, 
Anthony Morris." 
At the yearly meeting held at Burlington the 5 day of 7 mo. 1688. "A 
paper being here presented by some German Friends Concerning the 



148 The Settlement of Germantoivn. 

The men who prepared and signed this remarkable doc- 
ument slumbered in almost undisturbed security until the 
scholarly Seidensticker published his sketches, and Whit- 
tier, using the material thus collected, gave the name of 
Pastorius to the world in his beautiful poem. It is a little 
sad that Pastorius, whose life in America was spent here, 
and who belonged to a mental and moral type entirely our 
own, should become celebrated as the Pennsylvania Pil- 
grim, as though he could only obtain appreciation by the 
suggestion of a comparison with the men who landed at 
Plymouth ; but no poet arose along the Schuylkill to tell 
the tale, and we must recognize with gratitude, if with re- 
gret, how fittingly others have commemorated the worth of 
one whom we had neglected. 

It is the purpose of this chapter to gather into one sheaf 
such scattered and fragmentary facts concerning the lives 
of two others of those four signers as have survived 
the lapse of nearly two hundred years. In the Council of 
the Mennonite Church, which set forth the eighteen arti- 
cles of their confession of faith at the city of Dor- 
drecht, April 21, 1632, one of the two delegates from 
Krevelt, or Crefeld, was Hermann Op den Graeff. He 
was born November 26, 1585, at Aldekerk, a village of 
low houses, a somewhat soiled appearance, and a great 
church which has evidently for centuries exhausted the 
means of the people. It lies on the borders of Holland 

Lawfulness and Unlawfulness of buying and Keeping of Negroes, It was 
adjudged not to be so proper for this Meeting to give a Positive Judgment 
in the ease, It having so General a Relation to many other Parts, and 
therefore, at present they forbear it." 

The handwriting of the original appears to be that of Pastorius. An 
effort has been made to take from the Quakers the credit of this important 
document, but the evidence that those who sent and those who received 
it regarded each other as being members of the same religious society 
seems to me conclusive. 



The Of den Gracffs. 149 

and later became the scene of a great battle between the 
French and Germans. From Aldekerk Op den Graeff 
removed to Crefeld, and there married a Mennonite girl, 
Grietjen Pletjes, daughter of Driessen Pletjes, from Kem- 
pen, the town of Thomas a Kempis. He died December 
27, 1642, and she died January 7, 1643. They had 
eighteen children, among whom was Isaac, who was born 
February 28, 1616, and died January 17, 1679. ^ e nac * 
four children, Hermann, Abraham, Dirck and Margaret, 
all of whom emigrated to Germantown. The Dordrecht 
Confession of Faith appeared in the Martyrer Spiegel of 
Van Braght, published at Ephrata in 1749, ano - ^ as been 
many times reproduced in Pennsylvania. When Pastorius 
had concluded to cross the ocean he went to Crefeld on 
foot, and there talked with Thones Kunders and his wife, 
and with Dirck, Hermann and Abraham Op den Graeff, 
the three brothers. Did they have some dim and vague 
consciousness of the great work which they and their chil- 
dren, under the guidance of Providence, were to perform? 
"Was it given to them to catch a glimpse of what that little 
colony, planted in an unknown land thousands of miles 
away, was in the course of a few generations to become, 
or was the hope of a religious peace alone sufficient to 
calm their doubts and allay their fears? Six weeks later 
they followed Pastorius. At Rotterdam, on the way, on the 
nth of June, they bought jointly from Jacob Telner two 
thousand acres of land to be located in Pennsylvania. 
Germantown was laid out in fifty-five lots of fifty acres 
each, running along upon both sides of the main street, 
and in 1689 Dirck Op den Graeff owned the second lot 
on the west side going north, Hermann the third, and 
Abraham the fourth, with another lot further to the north- 
ward. All three were weavers of linen. Richard Frame, 



150 The Settlement of Germantown. 

in a description of Pennsylvania in verse, published in 
1692, refers to Germantown : 

"Where lives High German People and Low Dutch 
Whose Trade in weaving Linnen Cloth is much, 
There grows the Flax, as also you may know 
That from the same they do divide the tow ;" 

and Gabriel Thomas, in his account of the " Province 

and Country of Pennsylvania," published in 1698, says 

they made "very fine German Linen, such as no person 

of Quality need be ashamed to wear." It may be fairly 

claimed for Abraham op den Graeff that he was the most 

skilled of these artisans, doing even more than his part to 

have the town merit its motto of " Vinum Linum et 

Textrmum" since 

c= *p? /-*/ on the 17th of 9th 

W~«uh y v/r, «ra. « . /JL- month> i686? hi§ 

petition was pre- 
sented to the Provincial Council, " for ye Govr's promise 
to him should make the first and finest pece of linnen 
Cloath," 110 Upon a bond given by him to John Gibb in 
1702 for £38 5s., afterward assigned to Joseph Shippen, 
and recorded in the Germantown book, are, among others, 
these items of credit: " Cloth 32 yds @ 3s, 6d," and " 36- 
}£ Linning @ 4s," showing the prices at which these fa- 
brics were sold. 

On the 12th of 6th month, 1689, Penn issued to Dirck 
op den Graeff, Abraham op den Graeff, Hermann op den 
Graeff, called " Towne President," and eight others, a 
charter for the incorporation of Germantown, and directed 
Dirck, Hermann and Thones Kunders to be the first bur- 
gesses, and Abraham, with Jacob Isaacs van Bebber, 

110 Colonial Records, Vol. I., p. 193. 



d 



George Keith. 151 

Johannes Kassel, Heifert Papen, Hermann Bon and Dirck 
Van Kolk to be the first committee-men. The bailiff and 
two eldest burgesses were made justices of the peace. 111 
This charter, however, did not go into effect until 1691. 
Under it, afterward, Dirck was a bailiff in the years 1693 
and 1694, and Abraham a burgess in 1692. Abraham 
was also elected a member of the Assembly for the years 
1689, 1690 and 1692, sharing with Pastorius, who held 
the same position in 1687, the honor of being the only 
Germantovvn settlers who became legislators. 

Their strongest claim, however, to the remembrance of 
future generations, is based upon the Anti-Slavery protest. 
It is probable, from the learning and ability of Pastorius, 
that he was the author of this protest, but it is reasonably 
certain that Dirck op den Graeff bore it to the quarterly 
meeting at Richard Worrall's, and his is the only name 
mentioned in connection with its presentation to the yearly 
meeting, to which it was referred as a topic of too much 
importance to be considered elsewhere. 

A short time after this earnest expression of humani- 
tarian sentiment had been laid away among neglected 
records, awaiting a more genial air and a stronger light in 
which to germinate, events of seemingly much more mo- 
ment occurred to claim the attention of the Society of 
Friends. George Keith, whose memory is apostatized by 
them, and revered by Episcopalians, who had been one of 
the earliest and most effective of their preachers, began to 
differ with many of the leading members of the Society 
concerning questions of doctrine. In the nature of things, 
the defection of a man of such prominence was followed 
by that of many others. Dissension was introduced into 
the meetings and division and discord into families. In a 
111 Pennsylvania Archives, Vol. I., p. 3. 



152 The Settlement of Germantown. 

quiet and peaceable way the warfare was waged very bit- 
terly and many harsh things were said softly. Dirck op 
den Graeff adhered to the cause of the Friends, but Abra- 
ham and Hermann were among the disaffected, and the 
three brothers seem to have been more deeply involved in 
the controversy than any of the other Germans. The 
numerous public discussions which were held only served 
to confirm each faction in the correctness of its own ren- 
dering of the Scriptures ; the Friends who were sent to 
deal with George privately and to indicate to him whither 
he was tending made little progress ; and the difficulty 
having become too great to be appeased, twenty-eight 
ministers presented a paper of condemnation against him 
at the monthly meeting at Frankford. Dirck op den 
Graeff, a magistrate in the right of his position as a bur- 
gess of Germantown, was present at the meeting and must 
in some way have shown an interest in the proceedings, 
since Keith called him publicly " an impudent Rascal." 
Most unfortunate words ! Uttered in a moment of thought- 
less wrath, and repeated in the numerous pamphlets and 
broadsides which the occasion called forth, they returned 
again and again to plague their author. Beaten out in the 
fervor of religious and polemic zeal, they were construed 
to impliedly attack the civil government in the person of 
one of its trusted officers. Ere long, in reply to the testi- 
mony against Keith, the celebrated William Bradford 
printed "An appeal from the twenty-eight Judges to the 
Spirit of Truth and true Judgment in all faithful Friends 
called £>iiakers that meet at this yearly meeting at Burling- 
ton, 7 mo., '92," signed by George Keith, George Hutche- 
son, Thomas Budd, John Hart, Richard Dungwoody and 
Abraham op den Graeff. The appeal is, in the main, an 
attempt to submit to the people the question which had 



Keith's Appeal. 153 

been decided against Keith by the ministers as to whether 
the inner light was not alone insufficient, but it closes with 
the following pointed and pertinent queries : 

" 9. Whether the said 28 persons had not done much 
better to have passed Judgment against some of their 
Brethren at Philadelphia(some of themselves being deeply 
guilty) for countenancing and allowing some called 
J^tiakers, and owning them in so doing, to hire men to 
fight (and giving them a Commission so to do, signed by 
three Justices of the Peace called £>iiakers, one whereof 
being a Preacher among them) as accordingly they did, 
and recovered a Sloop, and took some Privateers by force 
of arms ? 

" 10. Whether hiring men thus to fight, and also to pro- 
vide the Indians with Powder and Lead to fight against 
other Indians is not a manifest .Transgression of our prin- 
ciple against the use of the carnal Sword and other carnal 
Weapons? Whether these called Qjiakers in their so 
doing have not greatly weakened the Testimony of Friends 
in England, Barbadoes, &c, who have suffered much for 
their refusing to contribute to uphold the Militia, or any 
Military force ? And whether is not their Practice here an 
evil President, if any change of government happen in this 
place, to bring Sufferings on faithful Friends, that for 
Conscience sake refuse to contribute to the Militia? And 
how can they justly refuse to do that under another's Gov- 
ernment, which they have done or allowed to be done 
under their own? But in these and other things we stand 
up Witnesses against them, with all faithful Friends every- 
where. 

"11. Whether it be according to the Gospel that Minis- 
ters would pass sentence of Death on Malefactors, as some 
pretended Ministers here have done, preaching one day 



154 The Settlement of Germantown. 

Not to take an Eye for an Eye (Matt. v. 38), and another 
day to contradict it by taking Life ? 

"12. Whether there is any Example or President for it 
in Scripture, or in all Christendom, that Ministers should 
engross the worldly Government, as they do here? which 
hath proved of a very evil tendency." 112 

There was enough of truth in the intimations contained 
in these queries to make them offensive and disagreeable. 
According to the account of it given by Caleb Pusey, an 
opponent of Keith, in his " Satan's Harbinger Encoun- 
tered," when Babbitt had stolen the sloop and escaped down 
the river, the three magistrates issued a warrant in the 
nature of a hue and cry, and a party of men went out in 
boat and captured the robbers. As they were about to 
depart, Samuel Carpenter, a leading and wealthy Friend, 
stood up on the wharf and promised them one hundred 
pounds in the event of success. Doubtless they used some 
force ; but to call them militia, and the warrant a commis- 
sion, was, to say the least for it, quite ingenious on the part 
of Keith. The Appeal had the effect of converting what 
had hitherto been purely a matter of Church into one of 
State. Bradford and John McComb were arrested and 
committed for printing it, but were afterwards discharged. 
Keith and Budd were indicted before the grand jury r 
tried, convicted and sentenced to pay a fine of five pounds 
each. These proceedings caused as much ^excitement as 
our placid forefathers were capable of feeling, and became 
the subject of universal comment. The justices, Arthur 
Cooke, Samuel Jennings, Samuel Richardson, Humphrey 
Murray, Anthony Morris and Robert Ewer met in private 
session on the 25th of 6th month, 1692, and issued the fol- 
lowing proclamation of warning and explanation : 

112 A mutilated copy of this Appeal is in the Friends' library on Arcb 
Street above Third. 



Proclamation of the Judges. 155 

"Whereas, the government of this Province, being by 
the late King of England's peculiar favor, vested and since 
continued in Governor Penn, who thought fit to make his 
and our worthy friend, Thomas Lloyd, his Deputy Gover- 
nor, by and under whom the Magistrates do act in the gov- 
ernment, and whereas it hath been proved before us that 
George Keith, being a resident here, did, contrary to his 
duty, publicly revile the said Deputy Governor by calling 
him an impudent man, telling him he was not fit to be a 
Governor, and that his name would stink, with many other 
slighting and abusive expressions, both to him and the 
magistrates : (and he thatuseth such exorbitancy of speech 
towards our said Governor, may be supposed will easily 
dare to call the Members of Council and Magistrates im- 
pudent Rascals, as he has lately called one in open as- 
sembly, that was constituted by the Proprietary to be a 
Magistrate) and he also charged the Magistrates who are 
Magistrates here, with engrossing the magisterial power 
in their hands, that they might usurp authority over him : 
saying also, he hoped in God, he should shortly see their 
power taken from them : All which he acted in an inde- 
cent manner. 

" And further, the said George Keith, with several of 
his adherents, having some few days since, with unusual 
insolence, by a printed sheet called an Appeal, etc., tra- 
duced and vilely misrepresented the industry, care, readi- 
ness and vigilance of some magistrates and others here, in 
their late proceedings against the privateers Babbitt and 
his crew, in order to bring them to condign punishment, 
whereby to discourage such assemblies for the future ; 
and have thereby defamed and arraigned the determina- 
tion of the principal judicature against murderers ; and 
not only so, but also by wrong insinuations have laboured 



156 The Settlement of Gertnantown. 

to possess the readers of their pamphlet that it is incon- 
sistent for those who are Ministers of the Gospel to act as 
Magistrates, which, if granted, will render our said pro- 
prietary incapable of the powers given him by the King's 
letters patent, and so prostitute the validity of every act of 
government, more especially in the executive part thereof, 
to the courtesie and censure of all factious spirits, and mal- 
contents under the same. 

" Now forasmuch as we, as well as others, have borne 
and still do patiently endure the said George Keith and his 
adherents in their many personal reflections against us and 
their gross revilings of our religious Society, yet we can- 
not (without the violation of our trust to the King and 
governor, as also to the inhabitants of this government) 
pass by or connive at, such part of the said pamphlet and 
speeches, that have a tendency to sedition and disturbance 
of the peace, as also to the subversion of the present gov- 
ernment, or to the aspersing magistrates thereof. There- 
fore for the undeceiving of all people, we have thought fit 
by this public writing not only to signify that our pro- 
cedure against the persons now in the Sheriff's custody, 
as well as what we intend against others concerned (in its 
proper place) respects only that part of the said printed 
sheet which appears to have the tendency aforesaid, and 
not any part relating to differences in religion, but also 
these are to caution such who were well affected to the 
security, peace and legal administration of justice in this 
place that they give no countenance to any revilers and con- 
temners of authority, magistrates or magistracy, as also to 
warn all other persons that they forbear the further pub- 
lishing and spreading of the said pamphlets, as they will 
answer the contrary to their peril." U3 

113 Smith's History in Hazard' Register, Vol. VI., p. 281. 



The Court. 157 

"What we intend against others concerned," would 
seem to imply that a bolt was being forged over the heads 
of Abraham op den Graeff and the remaining three signers 
of the insolent pamphlet ; but it was never discharged. 
The yearly meeting at Burlington disowned Keith, and 
this action the yearly meeting at London confirmed. Dirck 
op den Graeff was one of those who signed the testimony 
against him and one of those giving a certificate to Samuel 
Jennings, who went to London to represent his opponents. 
Hermann op den Graeff, on the other hand, was among a 
minority of sixty-nine, who issued a paper at the yearly 
meeting at Burlington, favoring him. The results of this 
schism were extensive and grave. It placed a weapon in 
the hands of the enemies of Friends which they used in 
Europe, as well as here, without stint. Ecclesiastically it 
led to the foundation of the Episcopal Church in Pennsyl- 
vania. Politically it threatened to change the destinies of 
a Commonwealth, since it was one of the principal reasons 
assigned for depriving Penn of the control of his province. 

The incorporation of Germantown rendered necessary 
the opening of a court. In its records may be traced the 
little bickerings and contentions which mark the darker 
parts of the characters of these goodly people. Its pro- 
ceedings conducted with their simple and primitive ideas 
of judicature, written in their quaint language, are both 
instructive and entertaining, since they show what manner 
of men these were, whose worst faults appear to have con- 
sisted in the neglect of fences and the occasional use of 
uncomplimentary adjectives. From among them is ex- 
tracted whatever, during the course of about thirteen years, 
relates to the Op den Graeffs. 

1696. "The 3rd day of the 9th month, before the per- 
sons constituting this Court of Record, proclamation was 



158 The Settlement of Germantozvn. 

made and the overseers of the fences did present as insuffi- 
cient the fence of Hermann op den Graeff, Abraham op 
den Graeff, Isaac Jacobs, Johannes Pottinger, Lenert Arets 
and Reinert Tyson." 

" The 6th day of the 9th month, after proclamation, the 
overseers of the fences being appointed to appear before 
this Court, did present as yet insufficient the fence of Her- 
mann op den Graeff, Abraham op den Graeff, Isaac Jacobs 
and Johannes Pottinger." 

James de la Plaine, Coroner, brought into this court the 
names of the jury which he summoned the 24th day of 4th 
month, 1701, viz: Thomas Williams, foreman; Peter 
Keurlis, Hermann op den Graeff, Reiner Peters, Peter 
Shoemaker, Reiner Tyson, Peter Brown, John Umstat, 
Thomas Potts, Reiner Hermans, Dirk Johnson, Hermann 
Tunes. Their verdict was as followeth : We, the jury, 
find that through carelessless the cart and the lime killed the 
man ; the wheel wounded his back and head, and it killed 
him." 

1 700-1. "The 7th day of the 9th month, Abraham op 
de Graeff and Peter Keurlis were sent for to answer the 
complaints made against their children by Daniel Falckner 
and Johannes Jawert, but the said Abraham op de Graeff 
being not well and Peter Keurlis gone to Philadelphia, this 
matter was left to the next session." 

20th of nth month, 1701. "The sheriff complains 
against Abraham op de Graeff's son Jacob, for having 
taken a horse out of his custody. The said Jacob answers 
that he brought the horse thither again. The Court fined 
him half a crown, besides what his father is to pay the 
sheriff according to the law of this corporation." 

" The sheriff, Jonas Potts, gave Abraham op de Graeff 
the lie for saying that the said sheriff agreed with Matthew 



Court Records. 



J 59 



Peters to take for his fees 7s, 6d., which upon acknowledge- 
ment was forgiven and laid by." 

December 28th, 1703. "Abraham op de Graeff did 
mightly abuse the Bailiff in open court, wherefore he was 
brought out of it to answer for the same at the Court of 
Record." 

21st of 1st month, 1703-4. "Abraham op de Graeff 
being formerly committed by James de la Plaine, Bailiff, 
for several offences mentioned in the mittimus, and the said 
Abraham having further, with many injurious words, 
abused the now Bailiff Arent Klincken in open Court of 
Record, held here at Germantown, the 28th day of Decem- 
ber, 1703, was fined by this present Court the sum of two 
pounds and ten shillings and he to remain in the Sheriff's 
custody until the said fine and fees be satisfied." 

13th of 4th month, 1704. "The action of Mattheus 
Smith against Abraham op de Graeff was called and the 
following persons attested as jurymen, viz : Paul Wolff, 
Tunes Kunders, William Strepers, Dirk Jansen, Jr., John 
Van de Wilderness, Dirk Jansen, Sr., Walter Simens, 
Henry Tubben, John Smith, Lenert Arets, Hermannus 
Kuster and Cornelius Dewees. The declaration of Matthew 
Smith being read, the answer of the defendant was that he 
proffered pay to the plaintiff, but that he would not accept of 
it, and brings for his evidences Edward Jerman and Joseph 
Coulson, who were both attested and said that Abraham op 
den Graeff came to the ordinary of Germantown, where 
Matthew Smith was and told to the said Smith that he 
should come along with him and receive his pay, and that 
the said Abraham had scales at home ; but Smith did not 
go. The plaintiff asked the said German and Coulson 
whether they heard the defendant proffer any kind of pay- 
ment ; they both said no. The jury's verdict was as fol- 



160 The Settlement of Ger7nantown. 

loweth : The jury understand that Matthew Smith refused 
the payment which Abraham had offered, the said Matthew 
is guilty ; but Abraham must pay the sum which the arbi- 
trators had agreed upon. Paul Wolff, foreman." 

October 3d, 1704. "The action of Abraham op den 
Graeff, against David Sherkes, for slandering him, the 
said Abraham, that no honest man would be in his com- 
pany, was called, and the bond of the said David Sherkes 
and Dirck Keyser, Sr., for the defendant's appearing at 
this Court was read ; the cause pleaded, and as witnesses 
were attested Dirck Keyser, Sr., Dirck Keyser, Jr., Arnold 
Van Vosen and Hermann Dors, whereupon the jury brought 
in their verdict thus : We of the jury find for the defendant. 
The plaintiff desired an appeal, but when he was told he 
must pay the charges of the Court and give bond to prose- 
cute he went away and did neither." 

Dirck died about May, 1697, leaving a widow Nilcken 
or Nieltje, but probably no children. Hermann, about 
September 29, 1701, removed to Kent county, in the 
"Territories," now the State of Delaware, and died before 
May 2, 1704. In a deed made by Abraham in 1685 there 
is a reference to his " hausfrau Catharina," and May 16, 
1704, he and his wife Trintje sold their brick house in 
Germantown. Soon afterward he removed to Perkiomen, 
and traces of the closing years of his life are very meagre. 
Of the two thousand acres purchased by the three brothers 
from Telner, eight hundred and twenty-eight were located 
in Germantown and sold, and the balance, after the deaths 
of Dirck and Hermann, vested in Abraham through the 
legal principle of survivorship. He had them laid out in 
the Dutch Township fronting on the Perkiomen, where he 
was living April 6, 17 10, and where he died before 
March 25, 1731. On the 27th of August, 1709, he gave 



The Op den Graeff Brothers. 161 

to his daughter Margaret and her husband Thomas Howe, 
a tailor of Germantown, three hundred acres of this land. 
In consideration of the gift Howe " doth hereby promise to 
maintain the within named Abraham op den Graeff if he 
should want livelihood at any time during his life, and to 
attend upon him and be dutiful to him." It is to be hoped 
that this covenant was more faithfully kept than sometimes 
happens with such promises when men in their old age 
drop the reins into other hands. His children beside Mar- 
garet were Isaac, Jacob, and Anne, the wife of Hermann 
In de Hoffen. In their youth he sent Isaac and Jacob to 
school to Pastorius. It is probable that after the Keith 
difficulty he did not renew his association with the Friends, 
and that his remains lie with those of the In de Hoffens 
(Dehaven) in the Mennonite graveyard on the Skippack 
near Evansburg. His name has been converted into Upde- 
graff, Updegrave and Updegrove, but those who bear it 
are not numerous. 





CHAPTER VIII. 



William Rittenhouse and the Paper Mill. 




Wapven von ZTTfilbeim 



<\ 




ILLIAM RITTEN- 
HOUSE was born in 
the year 1664, in the 
principality of Broich, near the 
city of Mulheim, on the Ruhr, 
where his brother Heinrich 
Nicholaus and his mother Ma- 
ria Hagerhoffs were living in 
1678. At this time he was a 
resident of Amsterdam. We 
are told that his ancestors had 
long been manufacturers of pa- 
per at Arnheim. However this 
may be, it is certain that this was the business to which he 
was trained, because when he took the oath of citizenship 
in Amsterdam, June 23d, 1678, he was described as a 
paper maker from Muhlheim. He emigrated to New 
York, but since there was no printer in that city, and no 
opportunity therefore for carrying on his business of mak- 
ing paper, in 1688, together with his sons Gerhard and 
Klaus (Nicholas) and his daughter Elizabeth, who subse- 

162 




— a. 

(A) ^ 

O 
E 

z: 
m 



Frame's Description. 163 

A Short 

DESCRIPTION 
^omftlfoama, 

Ot x A Relation What things are known, 

enjoyed, and like to be discovered in 

in the faid Province. 

of England. 



2?y Richard Frame. 



T Tinted and Sold hy William Bradford i> 
Philadelphia, i 692. 



quently married Heivert Papen, he came to Germantown. 
There, in 1690, upon a little stream flowing into the Wis- 
sahickon, he erected the first paper mill in America, an 
event which must ever preserve his memory in the recol- 
lections of men. He was the founder of a family which 



164 The Settlement of Germantown. 

in the person of David Rittenhouse, the astronomer, phil- 
osopher and statesman, reached the very highest intel- 
lectual rank. 

In 1692 William Bradford printed a poem by Richard 
Frame, an early resident of Philadelphia, entitled " A 
Short Description of Pennsilvania or a relation of what 
things are known, enjoyed and like to be discovered in the 
said Province." In it Frame writes : 

" The German-Town of which I spoke before, 
Which is, at least in length one mile or more, 
Where lives High German People and Low Dutch, 
Whose trade in weaving linen Cloth is much, 
There grows the flax, as also you may know, 
That from the same they do divide the Tow ; 
Their trade fits well within this habitation, 
We find convenience for their Occasion, 
One trade brings in imployment for another, 
So that we may suppose each trade a brother ; 
From linen rags good paper doth derive, 
The first trade keeps the second trade alive ; 
Without the first the second cannot be, 
Therefore since these two can so well agree, 
Convenience doth appear to place them nigh, 
One in Germantown, t'other hard by. 
A paper mill near German-Town doth stand, 
So that the flax which first springs from the land, 
First flax, then yarn, and then they must begin, 
To weave the same which they took pains to spin. 
Also when on our backs it is well worn, 
Some of the same remains ragged and Torn ; 
Then of the Rags our Paper it is made ; 
Which in process of time doth waste and fade : 
So what comes from the earth, appeareth plain, 
The same in Time, returneth to earth again." 



Holme's Relation. 165 

While this is perhaps not very attractive as to verse, it 
furnishes proof of the fact that in 1692 the paper mill was 
in operation, and consuming to some extent the waste of 
linen which the weavers of Germantown were making. 
In 1690 Robert Turner, William Bradford, the printer in 
Philadelphia, Thomas Tresse and William Rittenhouse 
had formed a company for the purpose of erecting the 
mill, and Samuel Carpenter, a wealthy merchant in Phila- 
delphia, had agreed to convey to them twenty acres of 
ground upon a lease for nine hundred and ninet}^-nine 
years at a rental of five shillings per annum. The mill was 
constructed, but no formal lease was executed. 

Before February 9, 1705-6, the interests of Turner 
and Tresse had been purchased by Rittenhouse, who was 
now the sole owner, and upon that day Carpenter made a 
lease to him for a term of nine hundred and seventy-five 
years at the same rental. It was Bradford's interest in 
the mill which was referred to by John Holme in " A true 
relation to the flourishing State of Pensilvania," written in 
1696, when he says : 

" Here dwelt a printer and I find, 
That he can both print books and bind ; 
He wants not paper, ink nor skill, 
He's owner of a paper mill. 
The paper mill is here hard by 
And makes good paper frequently, 
But the printer, as I do here tell, 
Is gone into New York to dwell. 
No doubt but he will lay up bags, 
If he can get good store of rags. 
Kind friends when thy old shift is rent, 
Let it to the paper mill be sent." 



i66 



The Settlement of Germantown. 



And Gabriel Thomas in his description of Pennsylvania 
in 1697 says : "All sorts of very good paper are made in 




LVAWIA 




Watermark used by Rittenhouse. 

the German-town as also very fine German linen such as 
no person of quality need be ashamed to wear." 

Bradford wrote to London, November 18, 1690 : 
" Samuel Carpenter and I are building a paper mill about 



Rittenhouse Pamper Mill. 167 

a mile from thy mills at Skulkill, and hope we shall have 
paper within less than four months." 114 But notwithstand- 
ing this modest statement, it is quite plain that Ritten- 
house was the most important member of the company, 
upon whom the others relied for the skill both to construct 
the mill and to conduct the business. It was not long be- 
fore Bradford had become embroiled in the schism started 
by Keith, had quarreled with his patrons the Quakers, 
who assisted him in the establishment of his press, and with 
Carpenter, his financial support, and had gone away to 
New York. In 1697 he leased his one-fourth interest for 
ten years to William Rittenhouse and his son Klaas upon 
their undertaking to furnish him " Seven ream of printing 
paper, Two ream of good writing paper, and two ream ol 
blue paper" every year during the term. He was further 
to have the refusal of all "ye printing paper that they 
make and he shall take ye same at ten shillings per ream " 
and the refusal of " five ream of writing paper and thirty 
ream of brown paper yearly and every year during ye said 
term of ten years, ye printing paper to be at 20 s and ye 
brown paper at 6 s per ream." For a period of twenty 
years all the American paper used in Philadelphia and 
New York was supplied from this mill. The first water- 
mark used was the word "Company," but this was soon 
superseded by the letters " W. R." on one-half of the sheet, 
and on the other a clover leaf in a shield with a crown-like 
top and the word Pensilvania underneath. The clover leaf 
was adopted from the town seal of Germantown. The 
next watermark consisted of the letters " K. R.,"the in- 
itials of Klaas Rittenhouse. About 1700 a sudden flood 
carried away the mill with a quantity of paper, material 
and tools, but a more substantial structure was erected to 



'Letters from Pennsylvania, London, 1691, p. 8. 



1 68 The Settlement of Germantown. 

take its place in 1702. Bradford finally parted with his 
interest June 20, 1704. 

Rittenhouse has still another claim to be remembered for 
his connection with the work of the community at German- 
town. In the year 1686 a little church was built. 

Although it is so described by Pastorius, there is no 
doubt it was a Quaker meeting house. Ere long the Men- 
nonites began to feel that they were numerous enough to 
establish a distinctive organization, separate from that of 
the sect of the Proprietor. Rittenhouse was their first 
preacher. We have fortunately an account of the origin 
of this movement from the pen of a contemporary, Jacob 
Godschalks, from a city called Gog in the land of Cleeve. 
He says : " The beginning or the origin of the community 
of Jesus Christ here at Germantown, who are called Men- 
nonites, took its rise in this way, that some friends out of 
Holland and other places in Germany, came here to- 
gether, and although they did not all agree, since at this 
time the most were still Quakers, nevertheless they found 
it good to have exercises together, but in doing it they 
were to be regarded as sheep who had no shepherd, and 
since as yet they had no preachers, they endeavored to 
instruct one another. In the year 1690 more Friends 
from Crefeld and elsewhere came into the land, who were 
also of our brethren and added themselves and attended 
our exercises in the house of Isaac Jacobs. 115 These last 
mentioned friends from the first found it good, or judged 
it better for the building up of the community to choose 
by a unanimity of voters a preacher and some deacons. 
Thereupon was William Rittenhouse, born in Mongouer- 
land, chosen preacher, and Jan Neues of Creveld, as dea- 
con, and the first named entered upon the performance of 



" 5 Van Bebber. 



The Mennonite Church. 169 

his duties on the 8th of October, 1702. They undertook 
a second election of two preachers and Jacob Godschalks 
from Gog, and Hans Neues from Creveld were chosen 
preachers. These two last mentioned at first served the 
community by reading, but afterwards a difficulty arose 
between Hans Neues and Arnold Van Vossen, and since 
the first thought that he was wronged, he separated him- 
self from the community and did not again unite with it. 
In the year 1707 some brethren came to us out of the 
Palatinate, who for a whole year kept by themselves. 
The 1 8th of February, 1708, the first chosen preacher, 
Willem Ruttinghausen died, to the great regret of the 
community. Since now Jacob Godschalks alone served 
the community, and the Brethren from the Palatinate had 
united with us, they considered it necessary to choose be- 
sides three men as deacons and overseers, which happened 
the 22 d of March, 1708, and there were chosen Isac Van 
Sinteren, Hendrik Kassel and Conrad Janz. A month 
afterward, April 20th, there were besides two preachers 
chosen, to wit : Herman Casdorp and Martin Kolb. After 
that we remained some time living in good peace. Mean- 
while some persons presented themselves in order to be 
taken into the community through baptism, whereupon the 
community, then consisting of thirty-three members, in- 
cluding the preachers and deacons, having consulted to- 
gether, ordered that the request of these persons should be 
complied with, and accordingly the administration of this 
rite was conducted by Jacob Godschalks and water bap- 
tism performed for the first time in the land, May 9, 1708. 
The persons to whom baptism was administered were eleven 
in number, and our community increased to forty-five mem- 
bers. The 23d of May we celebrated the suffering and 
death of our Saviour by observing the Lord's Supper as 



170 The Settlement of Germantozvn. 

instituted by the apostles. In 1709 some more Brothers 
and Sisters came to us throughout the Palatinate, so that 
on the 6th of April, 17 12, our community at Germantown, 
and thence extending to Schippak, was so increased that 
we had ninety-nine members." 116 

It appears that the Mennonites wrote from Germantown 
to Amsterdam asking that a preacher be sent to them. 
The letter is lost, but it was answered by Gerhard Roosen, 
Pieter Van Helle, Jacob Van Kampen and Jean De Leoni 
in a communication addressed to Claas Berend, Paul 
Roosen, Heinrich van Sintern, Harmen Kasdorp and 
Isaac Van Sintern at Germantown, informing them that no 
preacher was willing to take the long and dangerous jour- 
ney, advising them prayerfully to select one of their num- 
ber for the performance of these duties. 117 On the 3d of 
September, 1708, Jacob Gaetschalk, Harman Karsdorp, 
Martin Kolb, Isak Van Sintern and Conrad Jansen wrote 
to Amsterdam " a loving and friendly request " for " some 
catechisms for the children and little testaments for the 
young." There was no bible at the meeting house, and 
only one copy in the whole membership. They added 
"that the community is still weak and it would cost much 
money to get them printed, while the members who come 
here from Germany have spent everything and must begin 
anew, and all work in order to pay for the conveniences of 
life of which they stand in need." They had asked Wil- 
liam Bradford in New York concerning the publication of 
a confession of Faith, but found that it would cost so much 
that the purpose had to be abandoned. The letter bore 
fruit, because " The Christian Confession of the Faith of 



116 Life of Hendrick Pannebecker, p. 48. The original document in 
Dutch is in my possession. 

117 Cassel's History of the Mennonites, p. 140. 



Mennonitc Confession of Faith. 



171 



The 

Chriftian 
CONFESSION 

Of the Faith of the harmlcfs 
Chriftians , in the Ne- 
therlands known by 
the name of 

M-ENNONISTS. 




AM STER D 
Printed in the Year, 



172 The Settlement of Germantown. 

The 

CONFESSION 

Of the Faith of the hannlcfi 
Chrifliattf} in the Ne r 
therlands^ known by 
the name of 

MENNONISTS. 



ft 



AMSTERDAM. 

Printed, and Re-printed and Sold by 
Andrew Bradford in Philadelphia, 
in the Year, 1727. 



Mennonite Confession of Faith. 173 



AN 

APPENDIX 

TO THE 

CONFESSION of FAITH 

Of the Chriftians, railed, 

MENNONISTS; 

GIVING 

A flion: and full Account of them ; becaufe 
of the lmmagination of the Ncwnefs of 
our Religion, the Weapon and Revenge- 
lefs Chriltcndom, and. its being. 

Publiihed 

Formerly in the Low-Dutch, and tranflared 
out of the fame into High-Dutch, and out 
of that into the Engtijlt Language, 172.5+ 

PHILADELPHIA: 

Printed by Anircw Bradford, in the Yeai^ 
*7*7* 



174 The Settlement of Germantozvn. 

the harmless Christians in the Netherlands known by the 
name of the Mennonites " was printed in Amsterdam, 1712, 
in English, " at the desire of some of our Fellow believers 
in Pensylvania " and was reprinted in Philadelphia by 
Andrew Bradford in 1727. 118 

Martin Kolb, one of the writers of this letter, a grandson 
of Peter Schumacher, was born in the village of Wolfs- 
heim, in the Palatinate, in 1680 and came with his brothers 
Johannes and Jacob to Pennsylvania in the spring of 1707. 
He married May 19, 1709, Magdalena, daughter of 
Isaac Van Sintern and she may claim the distinction of 
having been the first genealogist in the province. Isaac 
Van Sintern, a great grandson of Jan de Voss, a Burgo- 
master at Handschooten, in Flanders, about 1550, was born 
September 4, 1662, and married in Amsterdam Cornelia 
Claassen, of Hamburg. He came with four daughters to 
Pennsylvania after 1687, died August 23, 1737, and was 
buried at Skippack. Magdalena Kolb, about 1770, when 
a very old woman, prepared a record of about five hundred 
of the descendants in Pennsylvania, which was sent to 
Holland and incorporated in the De Voss genealogy. 

On the 10th of February, 1702-3, Arnold Van Vos- 
sen delivered to Jan Neuss on behalf of the Menno- 
nites a deed for three square perches of land for a 
church. On it a log house was built, possibly at that 

time and certainly not 

JL.S~ rt £/&&~~^ later than 1708. The 

£/ iy/ / / quantity of land was later 

increased, since in 1714, 
Sept. 5th, Van Vossen conveyed thirty-five perches to 
Hendrick Sellen and Jan Neuss "for a place to erect a 
meeting house for the use and service of the said Men- 

118 A copy of each edition is in my library. 



An Old Landmark. 



175 







176 



The Settlement of Germantown. 



nonites (alias Menisten) and for a place to bury their 
dead.' 

Neuss died before Dec. 8, 1724, on which day Sellen 
executed a declaration of trust. 

The members, May 23, 1708, were Wynant Bowman, 
Ann Bowman, Cornelius Claassen, Peter Conrad, Gertrude 
Conrad, Johannes Conrad, Civilia Conrad, Jacob God- 
schalk and his wife, Johannes Gorgas, Margaret Huberts, 
Conrad Johnson and wife, Harmen Kasdorp and wife, 
Martin Kolb and wife, Heinrich Kassel and wife, Johannes 
Krey, Helena Krey, Paul Klumpges, Johannes Kolb, 
Jacob Kolb, Barbara Kolb, Arnold Kuster, Elizabeth 
Kuster, Hermannus Kuster, Peter Keyser, Catharine' 
Kasselberg, Jan Lensen, Jan Neuss, Hans Neuss, William 
Rittenhouse and wife, Altien Rebenstock, Mary Sellen, 
Hendrick Sellen, Hermen Tuyner, (?), Mary Tuynen, 
Margaret Tyson, Altien Tyson, Christopher Timmerman, 
Civilia Van Vossen, Arnold Van Vossen, Isaac Jacobs 
Van Bebber, Jacob Isaacs Van Bebber, Isaac Van Sintern 
and wife, Sarah Van Sintern. 119 

119 Morgan Edwards' Materials towards a History of the American Bap- 
tists. Vol. I., p. 96. 





CHAPTER IX. 



Peter Cornelius Plockhoy, of Zierik Zee. 
Communal Plans and Settlement on 
the Hoorn Kill. 



His 




m 



E now approach the most 
heroic figure and the 
most pathetic series of 
incidents in connection with 
the early history of German- 
town. It is the story of one 

"Who died in the broken battle, 
who lies with s wordless 
hand, 
In the realm that the foe hath 

conquered, on the edge of a 

Vignette from Plockhoy's Kort , , , „ 

6 _ J stranger land, 

en klaar Ontwerp. 

Robert Owen and Charles 
Fourier of recent years have elaborated theories of a com- 
munal life, which have attracted wide attention and dis- 
cussion, and in this country led Hawthorne, Thoreau, 
Emerson and their companions to make the experiment at 
Brook Farm. This experiment, at least, had the result of 
leading to the production of the Blithedale Romance and 
other interesting literature of permanent value. The fore- 

177 



178 The Settlement of Germantown. 

runner of Owen, in the suggestion of these views of life, 
was acknowledged by him to have been the Quaker, Robert 
Bellers, who in 1696 published a book in London advo- 
cating the erection of a college of labor wherein should 
be taught trades and housekeeping, and where the rich 
would get a profit, the poor a living, and the young would 
be properly instructed. Karl Marx praises this book as 
marking an epoch in the history of political economy. 
But as there were brave men before Agamemnon, and a 
book of Jasher before that of Jeremiah, so was there a pre- 
cursor to Bellers, Owen and Fourier. 

Peter Cornelius Plockhoy came of a Mennonite family, 
living at Zierik Zee, and was deeply impressed with the 
strong religious sentiment of the age and of the sect to 
which he belonged. He regarded the Christian church 
as a great universal union of brethren, common to all 
lands and to all ages, under the one head of Christ, and 
he says of himself that he was grieved to see the dissen- 
sions among the many sects into which this brotherhood 
was divided. He thought over a means by which he could 
help to break down the walls of separation, and concluded 
that the man who could do the most to accomplish this ob- 
ject was Cromwell, the Protector of England. Thereupon 
he abandoned for a time his family and went to London. 
Cromwell, in whose character was blended the capacity 
for military affairs and statecraft, with strong religious 
impulses and tendencies, gave him a hearing and permitted 
him to explain his views at length. The result was that he 
prepared two letters to the Protector. The first of them 
was dated June 24, 1658. It urged upon Cromwell to see 
to it that he, who by his achievements had been saved 
from Anti-Christ, should not again fall into the hands of 
the little Anti-Christs. The little Anti-Christs were those 



Letters to Cromwell. 



179 



sects which differ among themselves and exclude others, 
and the preachers of these sects. The church of Christ 
indicates something broad and universal. God and Christ 
alone are its masters. The government ought to prevent 
that any man should undertake to rule over another in 
matters of conscience. All are upon an equality in mat- 
ters of religion. The government ought not to lend its 
authority to sects which, contrary to the Holy Scriptures, 
have established forms and formulas in the shape of con- 
fessions of faith, by which they bind fast the wills of man- 
kind. No, there is one church for all. In the church 
differences of opinion can be permitted, but brotherhood 
and unity possess them all. For this common Christian 
church the Lord Protector ought to provide. He must 
cause it to be brought about that in each city, and in each 
county, there shall be a common Christian place of meeting, 
and that a great hall shall be built where the meeting shall 
be held, and the Holy Scriptures be read for all, and after 
the reading each shall have an opportunity to express 
briefly his opinion concerning it. The sitting places in 
such a hall could be arranged in the form of an amphi- 
theatre, and with rising steps. Freedom of speech must 
be preserved for each. Then all sects would accustom them- 
selves to come into one temple. Once more, there would 
be unity. The light would be opened in the midst of the 
darkness. Forbearing love would again be the custom. 
Freedom of conscience would be the rule. 

This first letter was soon after followed by a second. 
The theme of a common Christian church is again set 
out. The result in consequence must be a separation of 
church and state. It is true the government must see to 
it that in the great hall, as they come together, everything 
should be done in an orderly manner, and that they who 



180 The Settlement of Germantown. 

there read the Holy Scriptures should receive a certain 
compensation. But the Lord Protector must no more per- 
mit that preachers and leaders of the church shall be paid 
wages after the manner of persons employed by the state. 
The sects could as they chose support their own preachers. 
But to give tithes to the preachers must be forbidden. 
When this cable of hope for the preachers is cut, then is 
the might of the sects broken. The common church will 
then be able to rise up. The kingdom of Christ will then 
broaden out much further than England, in Holland, Den- 
mark, Sweden and France. We shall hear no more of 
the mere names of men, as of Luther and Calvin. Re- 
ligion and statecraft will no more be mingled. 

Whatever may be thought of the practicability of the 
scheme of Plockhoy it is certain that his ideas indicate 
great clearness of insight and that they were far in advance 
of his age. It would be interesting to know how they im- 
pressed Cromwell. Fortune, however, here as elsewhere, 
did not favor Plockhoy. On the 3d of September, 1658, 
Cromwell died. This event was, no doubt, a severe blow 
to the hopes of the philosopher, but he did not surrender. 
He was ready to utilize the meeting of the Parliament 
which took place January 27, 1659. He- had the two let- 
ters written to Cromwell put into print, and added to them 
a short address to the Parliament. In it he still urges the 
universal character of Christianity. The government 
must support no sects. They must only take care that the 
truth, like the sun, has the opportunity to make itself mani- 
fest, and also in the schools and universities. A magis- 
trate at all times must stand immovable in the midst, as a 
moderator between all the sects. He gave these three 
communications to the public in a pamphlet, a copy of 
which is in the university library at Ghent and whose title 



Plockhofs Way to Peace. 



ibi 



is " The way to the Peace and Settlement of these nations 
fully discovered in two letters delivered to his late High- 
nesse the Lord Protector, and one to the present Parlia- 
ment where in the liberty of speaking (which every one 
desires for himself) is opposed against Anti-Christ, for the 
procuring of his downfall, who will not grant the same to 
others, and now published to awaken the publick spirit in 
England, and to raise up an universal magistrate in 
Christendome, that can suffer all sorts of people (of what 
religion soever they are) in any one country, as God (the 
great magistrate) suffers the same in all the countrevs of 
the world." Matth. 5 : 15, " Men do not light a candle 
and put it under a bushel, but on a candlestick, and it 
giveth light unto all that are in the house. By Peter 
Cornelius Van Zurick-Zee, a lover of truth and peace. 
Printed in the year 1659." ^ e sa y s ^ n ** with truth that 
his pamphlet had little chance of success. The Parlia- 
ment which for the moment honored Richard Cromwell as 
the successor of his father, was little thinking of the 
separation of church and state. The army was the mas- 
ter of all, and the restoration was already in sight. Still 
Plockhoy remained in London, and cherished his dream 
of the brotherhood of man. He abandoned for the time 
the division of the kingdom of God into sects, and gave 
his thought to the separation of the rich and the poor. 
Could no way be found to fill up the gap and to better the 
conditions of the poor? Could no way be found for the 
improvement of their lives? He devoted himself to the 
work and the same year gave out a remarkable plan for a 
social union of laymen without regard to sect. A copy is 
in the British Museum and is entitled: "A way pro- 
pounded to make the poor in these and other nations happy. 
By bringing together a fit, suitable and well qualified peo- 



1 82 The Settlement of Germantown. 

pie into one hous-hold government, or little common- 
wealth, wherein every one may keep his Propriety, and be 
employed in some work or other, as he shall be fit, with- 
out being oppressed. Being the way not only to rid those 
and other Nations from idle, evil and disorderly persons, 
but also from all such that have sought and found out 
many inventions to live upon the labor of others. Where- 
unto is also annexed an invitation to this society or little 
Commonwealth, Psalm : Blessed is he that considereth the 
poor, the Lord will deliver him in time of trouble, the 
Lord shall preserve him and keep him alive, and he shall 
be blessed upon the earth. By Peter Cornelius van Zu- 
rick-zee, London, 1659. Printed for R. C. at the sign of 
the Black Spread Eagle at the West End of Pauls' Church 
Yard." 120 

The object of the plan is to increase the happiness of the 
poor. There must be no more oppression of others. The 
common life must again rest upon uprightness, upon love 
and upon brotherly union. No yoke shall be longer borne. 
There must be freedom from all idle and wrong doing per- 
sons, but above all from those who have sharpened their wits 
and found the means " to live from the labor of others." 
To accomplish this the plan provides for groups of col- 
lective house-keeping and labor combinations of working 
men who are willing to enter upon a common method of 
life. Two principles lie at the foundation. The first is 
the doctrine of equality. Men must abandon all ideas of 
greatness and desire for superior rank, and follow the ex- 
ample of Christ who came not to be served, but to serve, 
and who upon the question of his disciples, as to which 



150 1 have never seen either of these pamphlets and have translated 
them from the Dutch of Mr. H. P. G. Quack's admirable paper on Plock- 
hoy's Sociale plannen, Amsterdam, 1S92. 



THE SETTLEMENT OF GERMA/NTOW/N. 



-V 



{fiai ijon C\A€f* \ 



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hi fin for* rffoc* *<t0nrj%™>./ "■ "y^Sfc:— - 

r , %k y >£~> M'*y to*W, ^W?£?~ 

WTLi&L. i/n%lft&v fh***(G*j, >f^jW 







LETTER OF H. J. VAN AHKEN. TRANSLATED BY MATTHIAS VAN BEBBER 
AND IN HIS AUTOQRAFH. 



Communal Life. 183 

of them would be the first after his death, answered that 
he should be the first among them who became the servant 
of them all. It is therefore necessary to be careful to 
make the work of all equal and thus lighten the labor of 
the poor. Moreover, man must take heed of what the 
clergymen so often have in their mouths, in order to make 
the deaths of men so much the more serviceable to them- 
selves. They say they care only for the soul. As though 
they can love the soul which they see not, and at the same 
time show not the least compassion for the body which 
they see very well. No. As well for the body of each 
as the soul must we be considerate, making such an order 
in the community that all who now scarcely have bread 
shall have their wants satislied and appeased. If inequality 
were banished, then would the mischief which arises from 
the difference between the rich and poor, disappear. 
Jealousy, superfluity, lying, and deception shall disappear 
from among those " who maintain equality.'' 

The other essential idea is to bring into practice the 
principle of association. " Neither doth anyone stand 
simply by himself alone." Fourier expressed the same 
idea in almost the identical words at the beginning of the 
present century. Plockhoy's view was as follows: When- 
ever a hundred families live separately, there are neces- 
sary at Least a hundred women to do the household work. 
Unite them and let the hundred dwell together, and then 
the household work can be entirely done by twenty-five 
women, and the other seventy-live, if they are capable, 
can work lor the community. When a hundred people 
live apart every day, there is a necessity for a hundred 
fires to prepare the mid-day meal. If they be brought 
together, then the great tires of four or five ovens are 
ample lor the purpose. The objective point of the as- 



184 The Settlement of Germantown. 

sociation is thus a saving. But this is only a negative 
gain. A positive benefit of working together is a com- 
plete development of the work or knowledge, and thus a 
greater result from the work. While generally in the 
world, he says, it is to the profit of the individual to keep 
his capacity and skill away from the rest, when he enters 
into association, he brings his knowledge and skill into the 
community, and devotes it to the common good. " This is 
the only way to find out the height, depth, length and 
breadth of all the affairs of the world." In order, now, 
to start the foundation of such a community, and Fourier 
says the same thing, it is necessary that some capable 
people should advance capital enough to buy a piece of 
land upon which the establishment of the community can 
be based. After the land has been secured, four sorts of 
people are necessary to unite themselves in the common 
household, to wit : those who understand the cultivation of 
the soil, merchants and tradesmen, sailors and fishermen, 
and finally masters in arts and trades. Tradespeople come 
well first, learned and scientific people last. Also, in 
the beginning, it is better that the majority should be un- 
married. For the living and working together of all these 
people and for their union into one working group, he 
suggests certain rules. And first with respect to owner- 
ship. The time of work for all the people is fixed at ten 
hours a day except upon the Sabbath. They, however, 
who are hired servants of the community may work twelve 
hours upon working days while they, themselves, are 
members of it. Each may work in that occupation or that 
labor which suits him. It shall not be entirely forbidden 
to prepare those things which, in the view of the com- 
munity, are superfluous, so long as the world remains at- 
tached to them. In all hand work the effort shall be made 



Communal Life. 185 

to secure the best masters, and they, like the others, shall 
work ten hours a day and lead the rest. All are bound to 
work. An exception can only be made in the case of 
those rich people who, while not belonging to the associ- 
ation, may desire to live there by paying for their *-ooms, 
board and clothes. Should these of their own will do any 
work for the community, then are they an example for all 
the rich " time-loosers " in this world. Those who belong 
to the association shall not be bound to make their goods 
common. There is thus not a communality of goods. 
Each may keep his own property. Still is it something 
exceptional, whenever anyone freely pours gold into the 
funds or capital of the community. Those who bring in 
lands or ground for the common work shall in the first 
place be secured in the holding of their title. They give 
up the use of it without rent and permit that the land be 
cultivated by the association. Unless they otherwise de- 
termine and make over the land after their death to the 
community, the children or relatives shall inherit it. Each 
receives his share in the gains of the community. In case 
there are no profits nothing shall be taken. So that it be 
well understood that those who come into the community do 
so not for the sake of gain. Gain is, however, more likely 
to be made in such an association, since the expense of 
living there is less than in the outside world. The liv- 
ing is simple and sober. Finery in dress is forbidden. 
The price of necessaries is less because the community 
buys at wholesale. Besides, the community has its own 
cattle, its own vegetables and fruits, catches its own fish 
and brews its own drink. 

In order to secure the benefit of the community, and to 
do its work, it is necessary to have two great houses, one 
of them in or near the city, especially for merchants and 



1 86 The Settlement of Ge?"mantown. 

shop-keepers, the other in the country near a river, arranged 
for the farmers, the seamen and sailors, the tradesmen and 
the learned. The house in the city shall be large enough 
for twenty or thirty people to live together. It shall pos- 
sess stores and different compartments for merchandise, or 
cloth, woolen and linen goods, worsteds, clothes, shoes and 
all useful things. The articles produced by the work of 
the community can be sold at a moderate and cheap price 
to the public, at a less price than others, for the reason that 
the cost of production, as has been said, is less. The 
profit upon the goods shall belong to the community. The 
house in the city is thus mainly an office and bazaar. 
Business and industry are the chief features of this house. 
With care shall it be seen that the young people who are 
intended for salesmen shall attend to those things for which 
they are designed. In the same house dwell also the phys- 
icians, surgeons and apothecaries who must be in the city. 
These last can as well practice without as within the com- 
munity and thus add to the profits, but they must always 
be ready to serve the poor without charge. Also there 
must be in the house in the city single persons at all times 
to get the clothes and other things ready daily, and to per- 
form the daily service. 

The house in the country shall be built close by a river 
so that there may be the opportunity to bring many goods 
there by water. It were best to surround the house with 
a ditch crossed by a drawbridge, so that it may be safer 
from thieves and rovers. The water of the river offers an 
opportunity for catching fish. Near this house a court or 
garden is laid out, and further away stretch fields and 
meadows. Here the cultivation of the land and the raising 
of cattle are the principal occupations, for commerce and 
trade have at their foundation agriculture and cattle raising. 



The Town House and Country House. 187 

For trade have the people of the community need of 
clothes, woolen and worsted goods, linen, &c. But to 
prepare the goods they need flax and sheep. There must 
be then those who understand the art, further those who 
can make the land fruitful, gardeners and cultivators who 
can make all sorts of trees, vines, roots, herbs and flowers 
grow. They belong in the house in the country. Further 
must be found there masons, carpenters, smiths, and also 
ship-builders who can make ships and boats, to sail to 
Holland, Flanders, France and other lands and countries, 
manned with their own people from the community. If 
such a ship makes a bad trip, nobody blames the sailor. 
The families of the ship people, while the men are at sea, 
receive from the community all that they need. Finally 
in the house in the country are men skilled in all the arts 
and sciences, mathematics, masters in navigation, and in 
conclusion, teachers and their pupils. 

The two houses shall be so arranged and constructed 
that the people there, besides their private rooms, shall find 
common chambers or halls. While for each man and his 
wife are kept a room and closet, there shall be a large hall 
for all those affairs which they are prepared to undertake 
in an orderlv manner, a kitchen where all the food is made 
ready, a good cellar to keep provisions and drink, a hall 
where all eat together, a room for the children, a large 
room for scholars, a room for the sick, a room for the 
doctors and surgeons and for the preparation and preser- 
vation of drugs and medicines, a room for a library, space 
for maps and instruments relating to the arts and sciences, 
and finally a large room for the strangers, who intend 
some time to remain with the community and who either 
will do work for it or pay the expense of their maintenance. 
Each house shall make up its account for the half or whole 



188 The Settlement of Germantown. 

year. Whatever then is found beyond what is necessary 
for support and furtherance shall be divided among all the 
men, women, youths and maidens, so that each may have 
enough to give to the poor, or to entertain his friends who 
may come to see him. 

Concerning the householding arrangements and manner 
of living there are some directions to which attention must 
be given. The chief thought, however, is that in the 
midst of the union there is freedom. In this house, he 
says, each one may do his own work. The freedom 
within the circle of the community is recognized in all 
things, for example in the clothing. It is true all luxury 
is forbidden, but should any one desire stuff for clothing 
of a finer sort than that of the others, he may have it by 
paying so much out of his own money. No uniform, 
cloister like life is directed, only the recognition of com- 
munity appears clearly at every point. Unity character- 
izes the observance of meal time. The whole brother- 
hood and sisterhood sit down together, women and men, 
youths and maidens meeting each other, sitting at the dish 
in the order of Joseph's brethren, the women right opposite 
the men, the sons next to their father, the daughters next 
to their mother, while the young people by turns serve the 
table. Ceremonies and compliments are not to be taken 
in thought by those sitting opposite to each other, since 
each one is assured of the good will and friendliness of 
the rest. 

In the matter of choosing a wife, entire freedom is per- 
mitted. The man, however, does not need to take his 
wife from the community. If he finds a virtuous spouse 
outside of this circle, he can go to live with her, or bring 
her into the community. In the instruction and education 
of the children the idea of the common life is kept stead- 



The Teaching of the Children. 189 

fastly in view. All receive the same instructions, all, 
whether their parents be rich or poor, must learn a trade, 
and rather one modest trade that can keep them from 
want than two or three different trades. This concerns 
especially the children of the poor. With respect to these 
it is especially ordered that they be not drilled to slavish 
work. Also the children of the rich people who do not 
belong to the association, but still go to its school, shall 
be required to exercise themselves three hours a day at a 
trade, so that they, should they meet with misfortune in 
life, may be able to secure a livelihood. And the maid- 
ens, in addition to the care of the house-keeping and the 
going about with and looking after the children, shall 
learn some work, capable of supporting them, so that they, 
should they later leave the community or be married, may 
be in a situation to maintain themselves. The children 
shall not be instructed in any forms of religion prepared 
by men, but in the Holy Scriptures, besides in the nat- 
ural sciences, arts and languages. The utmost care shall 
be taken that their understandings be not corrupted before 
they have the use of speech. They are required in spirit- 
ual matters to believe no man, since they have the spirit of 
God, and like the prophets and apostles work wonders. 
For our belief, says Plockhoy, ought not to depend upon 
the words of men, but upon the might of the wonderful 
works of God. So doing shall there no germs of sects, 
factions or divisions be laid in their hearts. 

In this community formulas of belief shall have no con- 
trol. All things wherein the kingdom of God does not 
exist shall, when they are not in conflict with Scripture or 
reason, be permitted, such as the outerly form of baptism, 
the Lord's Supper and such ceremonies, since there is 
more danger in neglecting these things than in carrying 



190 The Settlement of Germantozvn. 

them into effect. There shall, and let this be compared 
with his letters to Cromwell, be built a great gathering 
place, a hall, in the form of an amphitheatre, with seats 
arranged one above the other like steps, not alone for the 
service of the community, but for all sensible men in com- 
mon. In the hall shall the Holy Scriptures be read and 
thereafter shall each have the freedom to express briefly 
his opinion. In this manner differences of sentiment will 
be prevented, since there will be entire freedom of speech. 
The community shall strive to keep constantly in view the 
idea of bringing the good folks out of all sects into com- 
bination and union, so as to be together a strong guard 
against perversity and sin. 

The direction of the association shall be in the hands 
of a Governor, who must be at least forty years of age. 
He shall be chosen by the people. Next to him three men 
shall be named also by the people, who shall have the 
management and care of the money of the community. 
All the office holders must resign each year. Neverthe- 
less the community shall have the power again to select 
them. Among these shall be chosen the overseers or 
directors, men and women, of the different parts or di- 
visions of the community. The propriety of making 
changes by turns shall be taken into thought in such a way 
that a certain rank shall be given to age, and always care 
shall be taken that those older in service can instruct the 
new beginners. It is well to be understood that this as- 
sociation so founded is to be obedient to the government 
of the country where it is established. It shall pay the 
taxes and lovingly support the laws of the land in all 
things which are not contrary to the command of God. 

There follow now some rules about the method of deal- 
ing with those who shall wish to leave the community. In 



Plochhofs Plans. 



iqi 



the first place each one who shall wish to say farewell 
shall receive back not only what he brought with him, 
but his share in the gains, whatever they are, up to the time 
of his departure. He shall be required to make known 
to the community in time his intention to depart, so that 
the directorship can see that the sum taken by him can be 
provided for. A sum of twelve hundred gulden shall be 
set apart for this purpose. With respect to large sums, the 
community reserves to itself the privilege of completing 
the payment after the lapse of a year's time, provided a 
fourth part of the debt be actually paid. If a young man 
or a maiden leaves the community in order to get married, 
he or she shall receive that part of the accumulated gains 
made during the time of his or her life there. If no gain has 
been made within this time, the community will give them 
something. If it should unluckily turn out that the com- 
munity should at some time be dissolved, then, after all 
the creditors have been paid, shall the land and the money 
which, with free will, have been given for the building up 
of the association, come to the poor people who have 
brought nothing into the community, unless there are poor 
relations of those who have given, out of love, capital to 
the association. These shall then have equal parts with 
the others. These are now the principal rules. In such 
an organization will, according to the opinion of the pro- 
jector, the association presenc a beautiful and peaceful 
sight. Each of the people is received into a restful self- 
working community, where all is in an entire equipoise. 
All work for all, each finds satisfaction of his wants. 
Here no more shall be heard, with the eye turned upon 
the children who have been born, the sighing wish that he 
had never married, that he had never been born. There 
shall be no more oppression of the work people by 



192 The Settlement of Germdntown. 

patrons. In the outside world the contractors oppress the 
workmen, and these pinch, out of hard work, a small re- 
ward, while in this circle the profits of the contractors 
overflow and drip down to the benefit and refreshment of 
the work people. A feeling of calmness penetrates the 
union. Men shall live there without care or trouble. 
Losses shall be borne by all together. Safely can men 
advise the wanderers and ship-wrecked upon the world's 
sea of [life to turn to the community ; there can they again 
take heart, again raise up their heads. Honorable trades- 
men and shopkeepers who are unable to support the 
struggle of a hard life or the wrestling with oppression 
may turn to this place of retreat. Brave people who, 
through sickness or want of work, fall into poverty can 
here find quiet, for here they are brought into and become 
parts of a vast organization. Each who works has now 
the assurance that he has, as the purchaser of his product, 
the whole association. Is the worker sick? The others 
work for him. He need have no anxiety for his old days, 
and is free from the perplexing feeling that he, after 
twenty or thirty years of almost intolerable work, has no 
prospect of any return. All extremes are absent from the 
association. No one is poor and no one is excessively 
rich. The eagerness to hunt for shadows, the uncertainty 
between the hope of receiving gain and the fear of mak- 
ing losses, are entirely absent. Moreover, is he assured that 
the children whom he leaves after him can here lead a 
quiet industrial life without care. After hazards and 
great risks, or substance or income, he does not reach. 
Still is he easy in conscience. The end finds him in peace. 
This equipoise of life shall also appear good to the woman 
who now, whether she is young and wishes to be married, 
or whether she is a widow and must take care of herself, 



Plockhofs Plans. 193 

depends too much upon outerly circumstances, upon the 
kingdom of this world, upon circumstances or fortune. 
First in such an association can she find security and 
steadfastness of life. Nevertheless, give heed to it, says 
Plockhoy, that this place where each, through his work, 
can spend a secure life, be not compared to a hospital, an 
old man's or woman's house where the people already 
aged come with their stripes, their oppositions, their deeply 
rooted ills, after their bodies have been lamed or stiffened 
from hard labor, and their spirits have been destroyed 
through bad habits. For the most part the people grovel 
away in the hard earth or sink into such a depth of igno- 
rance that no glimmer of reason can again enlighten them. 

Those who now wish to come into this association please 
to think, concludes our writer, that only such people shall 
be received who are brave, intelligent and unpartisan. 
All others begin to work in the association for hire and 
can first live in their own houses until they are prepared 
to come into the full union. In conclusion the writer gave 
the information that it was first his intention to found such 
an association in London, then in Bristol and afterwards 
in Ireland, where much land could be bought for little 
money, and much wood for building houses and ships and 
for the preparation of other essentials. 

To this plan, which appeared in print in 1659, were added 
an invitation in English to unite with the association thus 
described, and a scheme " showing the excess of Christian 
love and the folly of those who have not considered for 
what end the Lord of Heaven and Earth has created them " 
with the quotation from Matthew, 12th Chapter, 50th verse : 
" For whosoever shall do the will of my Father which is 
in heaven, the same is my brother and sister and mother." 
It was a clear demonstration that such a union of men 



194 The Settlement of Germantown. 

meant something since God himself joined them together. 
Such a society was possible in this association arranged by 
Peter Cornelius Plockhoy of Zierik Zee. Through such 
established communal life should the earthly desire for 
riches or idle honor be restrained. Unity of life should be 
considered. Real equality could be established. All the 
childish attention given to mere forms could be thrown 
aside. Such a peaceful association had been in the early 
times of Christianity a living truth. But the anti-Christ 
had known how to destroy the beautiful unity. Since had 
the Roman Catholic church added abuse upon abuse. 
Institutions such as that of the lazy monks had stolen in to 
produce corruption, so that the reformation had again re- 
stored the ancient truth. Now again must it be awakened 
in order to break the remaining strength of Satan, the 
enemy of mankind. We must be Christians not only in 
name but in fact. Therefore must men unite as true 
brothers and thus proceed with this scheme. 

The whole was concluded with a short letter wherein the 
people were invited to give their money in order to raise 
the capital necessary to start the movement. This want 
was only to be the bridge, since the association, so it was 
expressly assured, can later stand through its own strength, 
according to the testimony of credible persons who gave the 
information that many hundred people, in Zebenbergen 121 in 
Hungary and in the land of the Palatinate, beginning in 
a small way had not only lived an agreeable life together, 
but had accumulated means which had enabled them to do 
good to others not in the association. 

Such is a full summary of the social and communistic 
plan of Plockhoy, as it appeared in the year 1659. In it 
can be found all the thoughts which, written by Bellers in 
1696, gave him note among economists. Presented to 

121 These people were Saxons, living in Siebenburgen (Transylvania). 



Plockhoy on the South River. 195 

Englishmen in the time of Charles II., when the pleasures 
and revelries of the Court gave the cue to life, and the 
needs of the poor had little chance of being heard, it 
seemed to produce no effect beyond the aspirations and 
philanthropic outpourings of the prospectus. It was men- 
tioned in Sir Frederic Morton Eden's large quarto work 
upon "The state of the poor," published in London in 
1797. It was stolen by Abraham van Akkeren, who pub- 
lished it under his own name and with a different title, 
without reference to Plockhoy, in Amsterdam in 1688. 
And this was apparently all. And yet in Girard College 
in Philadelphia to-day may be found the large hall, ar- 
ranged like an amphitheatre, with rising seats where the 
Scriptures are read and all the formulas of sect are rigidly 
excluded as outlined by Plockhoy. In the large apart- 
ment houses springing up in all the modern cities may be 
found that economy of household labor he suggested. In 
his views with respect to practical Christianity, the eco- 
nomical utilization of labor, the separation of church and 
state, the education of the young, including the teaching 
of trades, and the practical insight which led him to permit 
the retention of hallowed but unessential ceremonies, he 
was far ahead of his age and presented much that is ad- 
mirable. England afforded him no opportunity and he 
went to Amsterdam. And, behold, the way opened up to 
him ! The seed which would not germinate in the old and 
worn-out lands of Europe might produce abundant har- 
vests when sown in the virgin soil of the new world be- 
yond the sea. Distance and danger and difficulty did not 
daunt the brave spirit of Plockhoy. The Dutch were then 
the owners of the New Netherlands, which included the 
North River, now the Hudson, and the South River, now 
the Delaware. A site upon the Delaware became the 



ig6 The Settlement of Germantown. 



Kort en klaer ODfcwerp 
Mron&etot 

Een ohderling Accoort, 

O M 

fficti atbepD / onrutt en moepe- 

lac^Jjept/Dati^lDeciep-ftano-tuercy- 

it^Dencejbeclicgjrfn. 
D O O R 

Een onderlinggCompagnie ofte 

VoIck-planting(onder de protedbe vande H: Mo; 

Heercn Statcn Generaelder vereenigde Neder-Ian- 

denjenbyfonder onder het gunftiggefagvande 

Achtbare Magiflraten dec Stad Amftelre^ 

dam) aen de Zuyt-revier in Nieu-ne- 

der-land opce rechtenj Beftaendeinf 

Land-bouvters, 

Zee-varendtPerfonen, 

Aider bande noodige Ambaehtt-lufdcn, tn Meefterx 

vangocdt konjltntn wetenfebappen.' 

§>tennem>e op or fcoonee&ten tan Dare 3cbt* 

tmer &ebcn ral0 tjier na toolgt) cot Dun epnoe uertcent. 
t'Samen geftelc 

Door Fitter Corntlifz. "Plockhoy van Zterck-z,ee, <voorbemfehenenMudere, 
Lief-b<bbersvan Nteu-neder-land. 

t'XmStrtam SlDjUCfet bp Octo Barentfz. Sraiettt,:Anno:i^fc 



The Valley of the Swans. 197 

chosen field where his schemes for the benefit of humanity, 
so long thought out, were to be put in operation. The 
place selected was the mouth of the Hoorn Kill, where is 
now the town of Lewes, in the State of Delaware. The 
beautiful name of Swanendael, " The Valley of the 
Swans," has a ring of promise, could we but forget that 
the swan is the bird which sings once and then dies. 
There was another omen. In 1630 Gilles Osset had taken 
a little colony of thirty-three persons to the same place, 
all of whom had been murdered by the Indians, and their 
bones were scattered along the shore. 

In 1662 Plockhoy published at Amsterdam a Dutch 
quarto volume called " Kort en Klaer Ontwerp," or, in 
English, " Short and clear plan, serving as a mutual con- 
tract to lighten the labor and anxiety and trouble of all 
kinds of handicrafts' men by the establishment of a Com- 
munity or Colony on the South River in the New Nether- 
lands, comprising agriculturists, seafaring men, all kinds 
of necessary tradespeople and masters of good arts and 
sciences, under the protection of their High Mightinesses, 
the Lords States-General of the United Netherlands and 
particularly under the favorable auspices of the Honorable 
Magistrates of the City of Amsterdam, depending upon 
the privileges of their Honors as hereinafter set forth, 
granted for the purpose. Brought together by Peter Cor- 
nelius Plockhoy of Zierck Zee for himself and other lovers 
of New Netherlands." The only copy of this book in any 
of the States along the Delaware is in my library. It is 
believed that another work " Kort Verhael van Nieu Ned- 
erlants " which appeared a few months later without a 
name, was written by the same author, but the evidence is 
not clear. The scheme which he arranged for his settle- 
ment in America was as follows : 



198 The Settlement of Germantozvn. 

Since men with their families living alone or scattered 
through the land, because they are by themselves alone 
and because of poverty, sickness, death, or other misfor- 
tune, are able to secure little success or advancement, have 
we, lovers of humanity, in order to better our own and our 
neighbors' welfare, undertaken, under the protection of 
their High Mightinesses the States-General of the United 
Netherlands and especially under that of the Honorable 
Magistrates of the city of Amsterdam, to establish a mutual 
company or society upon the South River in New Nether- 
lands, consisting of a peaceful united and select folk who, 
by aiding each other in the cultivation of the land, fisheries, 
trades and other useful occupations, hope to better the 
condition of many oppressed people who live here in great 
trouble. In accordance with the mutual agreement, in 
order that the aforesaid society may be governed in good 
order, we have prepared the following regulations : 

First : In order that a numerous mutual company 
wherein each may have his goods and dwelling apart shall 
be under one common direction, but without being subject 
to the control of any individual, each shall have the free- 
dom to use his judgment in the improvement of the estab- 
lished conditions by adding thereto, either by the common 
consent or by the votes of two-thirds of the association, 
thus expressly excluding such persons as wish obstinately 
to accomplish ends according to their own opinions. 

In order to open the door for all kinds of reasonable and 
unpartisan men, there will be needed here first : cultivators 
of the soil ; second, seafaring men ; third, all kinds of use- 
ful tradespeople, and fourth masters of good arts and sci- 
ences, who all with a voluntary unanimity shall work for 
the common good and benefit like members of one family. 
The profits from farming, fish catching, mining or any 



Settlement at the Hoorn Kill. ioo 

other labor shall be divided not according to the number 
of families, but according to the number of individuals in 
such families, sick or well, who are over twenty years of 
age, all unmarried persons, both women and men who are 
not at service, receiving as much as those married ; but 
the married who are under twenty years of age, shall be- 
gin to receive their profits from the year of their marriage. 
Only the men who belong to the society shall have the 
privilege over the women that the undivided lands shall be 
divided among them according to lot, when their moneys 
are brought to the magistrate. Those who are under 
twenty years of age shall like all the others, whether they 
can be of service or not, be supplied with necessaries out 
of the common goods. Those in our society who are ac- 
customed to farming or other labor shall, when all is 
brought into good order, work every day except the Sab- 
bath, six hours for the common profit, or supply others in 
their place. The remaining hours shall be their own for 
their own profit, refreshment of the body, or other useful 
pursuits. To which end not only married men, but also 
all unmarried men above twenty years of age may select 
out of the common grounds a piece of land for a private 
plantation whereon to plant or cultivate, as it may seem to 
them good. The seafaring persons and others whose 
labor cannot be accommodated to any fixed hours, in order 
in the overtime to secure their profit from planting or oth- 
erwise and to be on an equality with the tradesmen and 
farmers so far as possible, shall receive, instead of a pri- 
vate plantation, some other profit from the society. 

So as to keep everything in good order, every year 
those who are thirty years old or over shall choose, by a 
majority of votes, the names being written on folded pieces 
of paper, one man for director over the whole society, who, 



200 The Settlement of Germantoivn. 

having ruled for one year, shall give up his office and go 
back to the common work. But no person shall be nom- 
inated in the election who has been in the office the year 
before, or is not fit for the same, or not inclined to perform 
the duties of the office, so that no man may be selected 
contrary to his sense and inclination. The office, how- 
ever, will not be burdensome in itself, since the rulers or 
directors do not have to make any rules or laws, but only 
to see that the regulations made or found good by the 
whole people are observed. So doing shall no man rule 
according to his own will or pleasure, except in little 
things for which no special order can be made. Still as 
he makes no more profit by ruling than the others do by 
working through the same time, why would he not rather 
work in quiet for the common profit six hours a day in ac- 
cordance with our rule than to busy himself with the con- 
tinually distracting cares of the many affairs of govern- 
ment? 

Beside the director over the whole society, there shall 
be chosen two of the most suitable men to keep the books, 
one of whom shall give the order in writing, upon which 
the other delivers the money, wares or merchandise to the 
person whom the written order describes, placing the reck- 
oning of the same in the book, in order to make good the 
reckoning of him who has given the order. These book- 
keepers may also be used for the purpose of writing 
letters, journals and other matters which concern the so- 
ciety. No man alone, even the most important of the 
whole society, shall be in control of the common funds, 
but the three highest in the government, namely the chosen 
director of the whole society, and the two book-keepers 
aforesaid, shall at all times have the keys of the three dif- 
ferent locks so that neither one or two in the absence of 



Settlement at the Iloom Kill. 201 

the third can open the cash. At the end of each year 
shall all the accounts of the society be brought into bal- 
ance, and all with the knowledge of the society be well 
balanced, and the books with two of the keys belonging 
to the common cash be put in the hands of the two above- 
named bookkeepers and the great book with a key be 
given to the newly chosen director for protection. 

No man shall be permitted to take away cargoes of 
merchandise from here or elsewhere in order to carry 
on a private business until he has paid the money ad- 
vanced by the magistrates of the city of Amsterdam. 
Also shall each one be permitted to carry on business with 
those goods and wares which he, through his art, trade or 
land cultivation, has made his private property through his 
overtime. And in case that any person, whether a mem- 
ber or no member of our society, desires to pay in money, 
wares or merchandise in order therewith to make a profit, 
he shall receive a reasonable interest or the half of the 
profit upon his capital, wherein he is much more secure, 
having the common property of the society as security, 
than if he ventured his merchandise with a private person. 
In order to avoid, as much as possible, the risks of loss 
we shall not trust the society's money, wares or merchan- 
dise to any one to be exported or traded with in the coun- 
try, unless he has capital or a wife and children, where- 
with he is, as it were, anchored in the society. 

The women, if their husbands die first, shall, with their 
children, be taken care of out of the common fund, and 
each person in such a family who is above twenty years 
of age shall, together with the mother, be paid a share of 
the profit which appears yearly, after the payment of the 
common needs. Only the profit, in order to make the 
common fund safe, shall be retained until the moneys 



202 The Settlement of Germantown. 

needed for the Lords shall be secured. The children or 
persons under age shall every day work for half a day 
and go to school for half a day except upon the Sabbath, 
and, besides learning a suitable trade, shall be taught to 
read, write and cipher according to their age and ability, 
so that they may be freed from bondage and may not fall 
into idleness and folly. 

Among all the trades and occupations the most suitable 
workmen shall be chosen for masters and foremen who, as 
well as the other people of our company, shall work six 
hours a day for the common good, or be busy placing in 
the book all that is received or paid out for the society. 

The name of servant or servant-maid has no place 
among us, where each, head for head, watches over his 
share of the profits. Still if strangers, whether full grOwn 
or persons under age, not of our society, will work for 
another for daily hire or otherwise, and are received by 
one person or another or in one family or another as ser- 
vant or servant maids, and work six hours a day for the 
community, and the overtime for their masters and mis- 
tresses privately, doing during the six hours the necessary 
things like others of the society, and giving the remaining 
work and service for the profit of their masters and mis- 
tresses, they shall receive so much money or the worth of 
it as is paid here or there in the country. 

In matters of religion in order to arrange all well, shall 
each have freedom of conscience, to which and in order 
that no one give any offence by formulas established by 
men, in a common meeting house on each Sabbath day or 
on Sunday and holidays shall the Holy Scriptures, which 
all Christians recognize for truth, be read, and psalms and 
hymns sung. Should the number of persons so increase 
with lapse of time that each kind of people belonging to 



Common School. 203 

one sect should want its own meeting house and choose to 
support its own preachers, it may be done. This is a 
matter with which the society has nothing at all to do. 122 

The children and youths shall be taught in our common 
school, so that everywhere equality be regarded, no 
human formulas of religion, but only the Holy Scriptures, 
natural sciences and similar instruction enabling them to 
rightly use their reason and not by the inculcation of pri- 
vate opinions to destroy it. This must be observed that no 
foundation of sect or partisanship be laid in their hearts. 
If any one wishes to have his children taught in a private 
school or by a private teacher, such person may freely be 
guided by his own conscience, the more so that it does not 
in the least concern the society. 

Any man who for conscientious reasons is unable to bear 
arms, in order to be free from service and watch, shall 
pay yearly a certain tax or contribution to that part of the 
society which protects him in case it is desired. This 
work, since we believe only in defensive war, is to provide 
officers, and maintain order when occasion demands it, 
and also the daily exercise of drill, the securing of ammu- 
nition, and whatever is necessary in this respect. 

If any colonists, after we have worked a year or two 
upon the common plantation, come to us as partners and 
desire a part not only in the cleared land, but also in the 
undivided cattle and all that is common, they must enter 
into an agreement with the society concerning it and pay 
for the privilege in money or wares. If they are people 
who have no money or goods to pay for the privilege, but 
are willing to work six hours a day for the society and in 
this way lighten our work some hours a day, they may do 
so in order that, instead of snowing them a favor, our own 
plantations and opportunities may be improved. 

122 A note of admiration cannot be withheld. 



204 The Settlement of Germantozvn. 

And in case any persons dwelling here in the Fatherland 
shall desire for themselves, their descendants or heirs to 
become partners in our common plantation, after we have 
worked upon it two, three or four years, they may make an 
agreement before our departure with the society, and by 
placing a certain sum of money or merchandise in our 
company obtain such a privilege and receive their part of 
the divided cattle and all other profits which come out of 
the common work in the aforesaid years. 

No lordship or servile slavery shall burden our com- 
pany. So shall each be held to use his diligence to work 
out a good example of progress. But if anyone, through 
unworthiness or unrighteousness, disobey the common laws 
and rules, and makes himself undesirable in the company, 
and after he has been reasoned with in a friendly way by 
the directors and others, he is headstrong and will not 
heed, he may be expelled and driven out by the votes of 
at least two-thirds, their opinions being written upon folded 
pieces of paper, but still not without giving him his part 
of the profit made in his time after his part of the ad- 
vanced money has been paid. 

The men may sell their share in the common plantation 
and in the undivided cattle and in everything which is 
coming to them from the society, or put others in their 
places who will bear their part of the common good. To 
perform the common work with the others is regarded as 
sufficient by the society. 

If any one wishes to leave the society before the ad- 
vanced moneys are paid to the magistrates, in order to re- 
turn to the Fatherland, he is free at any time to do it, and 
to transport his family at the common expense, transfer- 
ring to the society his share in the undivided land, cattle 
and other things coming to him. He shall only take with 



What Settlers Wanted. 



205 



him his own private property, so that the remaining colon- 
ists may not be hindered from paying the money advanced 
by the magistrates of the city of Amsterdam. 

If any one wishes to go over or to journey elsewhere at 
his own expense and at any time to withdraw from the so- 
ciety, he can do it upon first paying the moneys so far as 
it concerns him which he has received from the Lords by 
way of advancement, selling his share in the common land 
and everything that is in common, or if he chooses to re- 
main a partner by putting in his place a person acceptable 
to the society, as has been said upon helping the others to 
do the common work, if it be done, he may go and dwell 
in any place he thinks best. The reader will be pleased 
to remember that we desire no wild cursers, drunkards or 
other such strange people in our community, but only such 
as we know by experience or by recommendation to be 
reasonable unpartisan persons. Others whom we know 
not may work for us as day laborers until we find out they 
are suitable to come into the society, which consists, as has 
been said, not only of farmers, seafaring persons, and mas- 
ters of good arts and sciences, but also of all sorts of use- 
ful tradesmen, such as smiths, house carpenters, ship car- 
penters, brickmakers, masons, stonecutters, potters, tilers, 
dishmakers, woodsawyers, wagonmakers, chestmakers, 
turners, joiners, coopers, millwrights, millers, bakers, 
brewers, distillers, butchers, jarmakers, skindressers, 
leathermakers, shoemakers, glovemakers, saddlers, tail- 
ors, brushmakers, hatters, bleachers, painters, woolcomb- 
ers, threadtwisters, weavers, fullers, ropemakers, sieve- 
makers, sailmakers, netmakers, blockmakers, compass- 
makers, makers of sea instruments, refiners, braziers, 
pewterers, plumbers, tinmen, glassblowers, glassmakers, 
basketmakers, spectaclemakers, combmakers, soapboilers, 



206 The Settlement of Germantown. 

saltboilers, glueboilers, oilmillers, needlemakers, pinmak- 
ers, cutters, sheathmakers, surgeons, druggists, etc. 

All who intended to participate were to be ready to start 
not later than the middle of September, in 1662, and were 
to come to Brouwerstraet, in Amsterdam, the Boomgaert of 
New Netherland, between 8 and 9 o'clock in the morning, 
or to the Sea Dike, in the Golden Boot, in the evening be- 
tween 6 and 7 o'clock, so that the number of persons could 
be known and provisions for a year could be secured, 
wares and merchandise could be brought and agreements 
made. The book was illustrated with a picture of a boat. 
It was enlivened by a ringing poem upon New Nether- 
lands by Karel ver Loove at the beginning, and some 
verses at the end by Jacob Steendam, the poet of the 
North River, which have been somewhat roughly trans- 
lated as follows : 

SPURRING VERSES. 123 

You poor, who know not how your living to obtain ; 

You affluent, who seek in mind to be content ; 

Choose you New Netherland, which no one shall disdain ; 

Before your time and strength here fruitlessly are spent. 

There have you other ends, your labor to incite ; 

Your work will generous soils, with usury, requite. 

New Netherland's the flow'r, the noblest of all lands ; 

With richest blessings crowned, where milk and honey flow ; 

Endowed ; yea, filled up full, with what may thrive and grow. 

The air, the earth, the sea, each pregnant -with its gift, 

The needy, without trouble, from distress to lift. 

The birds obscure the sky, so numerous in their flight, 
The animals roam wild, and flatten down the ground. 
The fish swarm in the waters, and exclude the light, 



123 From Henrj C. Murphy's Jacob Steendam. The Hague, 1861. 



Spurring- Verses. 207 

The oysters there, than which no better can be found, 
Are piled up heap on heap, till islands they attain ; 
And vegetation clothes the forest, mead and plain. 

You have a portion there which costs not pains or gold, 

But if you labor give, then shall you also share 

(With trust in Him who you from want does there uphold) 

A rich reward, in time, for all your toil and care. 

In cattle, grain and fruit, and every other thing; 

Whereby you always have great cause His praise to sing. 

What see you in your houses, towns and Fatherland ? 
Is God not over all ? the heavens ever wide ? 
His blessings deck the earth — like bursting veins expand, 
In floods of treasure o'er, wherever you abide ; 
Which neither are to monarchies nor dukedoms bound, 
They are as well in one as other country found. 

But there, a living view does always meet your eye 

Of Eden, and of the promised land of Jacob's seed ; 

Who would not, then, in such a formed community, 

Desire to be a freeman ; and the rights decreed, 

To each and every one, by Amstel's burgher Lords, 

T' enjoy? And treat with honor what their rule awards? 

Communities the groundwork are of every state ; 
They first the hamlet, village and the city make; 
From whence proceeds the commonwealth ; whose members 

great 
Become, an interest in the common welfare take. 
'Tis no Utopia; it rests on principles, 
Which, for true liberty, prescribes you settled rules. 

You will not aliens, in those far lands appear; 

As formerly in Egypt, e'en was Israel, 

Nor have you slavery nor tyranny to fear, 

Since Joseph's eyes do see, and on the compass fall. 

The civic Fathers who on th'Y, perform their labors, 

Are your protectors ; and your countrymen are neighbors. 



208 The Settlement of Germantown. 

New Netherlands South River — second Amazon, 

For you a pleasure garden on its banks concedes. 

Choose you the Swanendael, where Osset had his throne, 

Or any other spot your avocation needs. 

You have the choice of all ; and you're left free to choose ; 

Keep the conditions well, and you have naught to lose. 

Discard the base report, unworthy of your ear ; 
'Tis forged by ignorance and hate and jealous spite, 
By those who are its authors, to bedim this fair 
Bright morning sun before the laughing noonday light. 
An accident may hinder, but not change the plan, 
Whose gloss, take that away, you then may fairly scan. 

'Twas but an accident, which gives them stuff to slight 

That land, which, as I know, no proper rival has; 

In order from your purpose they may you affright, 

Who there desire to live, before you thither pass. 

'Tis groundless, ev'ry one may easily perceive, 

Who now neglects the chance, great treasures does he leave. 

The plan met with the favor of the Burgomasters of 
Amsterdam, who entered into an agreement with Plock- 
hoy, June 6, 1662, that he should take twenty-five persons, 
described as Mennonites, with him to the South River, for 
each of whom they were to advance one hundred guilders. 
The colonists were further to be free from taxes or tenths 
for twenty years. They were to repay the sums advanced 
and to make arrangements for other settlers to follow. 

In due time the same year they reached the Valley of the 
Swans and at last the great scheme of a community founded 
upon the idea of the brotherhood of man, its members living 
together in peace and sharing equitably the results of their 
mutual labors, hearing the Gospel without dogma or form 
read in a common meeting place for all sects, was put in 
operation. What would have been the result had they 



Burgomasters of Amsterdam. 209 





endeRegeerders der 

Stad ^mitelredamme. 

LfoWy altooseenegenblijven cot voort- 
fettinge van defer Stede Colonie inNieu- 
NederlandjJOQ tS'T, dac Wy met ken- 
nifle ende goed-vinden van de Heeren 
xxxvj. Haden, gerefolveert he.bbcn tot 
dien eynde metPictec Cornelifz. PJock- 
hoyvan Zierick-Zee op te rechten het 
na-volgende Accoort, namentlijckj 

Dac by Pietef Cornelifz. Plockhoy aen-neenu fo dra moge- 
lijckaeuOnsvoofte ftellen vier-en-twintig Mannen.de welc- 
ke met hem makende een focietey t van xxv. perfoneh, hae r fu I- 
len verbinden met de eerfte gelegemhey t van Schip of $chepen 
te vertrecken oa de voorfz defer Stede Colonie, om haer in de 
ferve'metter Woon neer te fetten.en met Land-bouwcrye , Vis- 
fcherye > Hand wercken en anders te generen , 't felve fo veel 
doeaelijck 6eneerftigende j nietalleen ten fijne dat fy uyt foda • 
nigen arbeyt becjuamelijck fouden konnen leven,maeroock,op 
datdaer doqr voorraet voor andere aen-komende Perfonen 
fendeHuys-gefinnen foude mogen toe-bereyt worden 

Des fat de voorfz focietey t van xxv. Mans-perfon^fglje 
yanmeer of minder getahnadatfe foude mogen komenfVVer- 
meerderen of verminderen) voor 't gemeen j mitfgaders noclj 
daer^en-bcven jderlfc van de felve Societeyt Voor figfelfs in 't 
barnciilfer, v^ntijcl tot tijd mogen uyt-kiefen JbeJlAeh ende aefl\ 
nier heme nfov eel Lands, memand anders roe-kbmeiide'tfy to *.^c» 
icn deH6erc-kiJ,t!3of elders,mt Diftrift van defe Colonic.waer, £S s,Ml 

A ij ^ct! 



2io The Settlement of Germantozvn. 

been left undisturbed, we do not know. But the times 
were unpropitious and the misfortunes which ever attended 
the steps of Plockhoy pursued him in the distant land. 
The hand of fate fell heavily upon him and an evil day 
soon came. War broke out between England and Hol- 
land, the result of which was that the Dutch surrendered 
the New Netherlands and retained the island of Java and 
other East India islands, then regarded as much the more 
valuable possessions. In the course of this war, when Sir 
Robert Carr entered the South River, on behalf of the 
English in 1664, he sent a boat to the Hoorn Kill and de- 
molished the settlement and seized and carried off " what 
belonged to the Quaking Society of Plockhoy to a very 
naile." What became of the people has always been a 
mystery. History throws no light on the subject, and of 
contemporary documents there are none. In the year 1694 
there came an old blind man and his wife to Germantown. 
His miserable condition awakened the tender sympathies 
of the Mennonites there. They gave him the citizenship 
free of charge. They set apart for him at the end street 
of the village by Peter Klever's corner a lot twelve rods 
long and one rod broad, whereon to build a little house 
and make a garden, which should be his as long as he and 
his wife should live. In front of it they planted a tree. 
Jan Doeden and William Rittenhouse were appointed to 
take up " a free will offering "' and to have the little house 
built. This is all we know, but it is surely a satisfaction 
to see this ray of sunlight thrown upon the brow of the 
hapless old man as he neared his grave. After thirty- 
years of untracked wanderings upon these wild shores, 
friends had come across the sea to give a home at last to 
one whose whole life had been devoted to the welfare of 
his fellows. It was Peter Cornelius Plockhoy. What 



JVb Slavery. 211 

recognition may be hereafter awarded to his career cannot 
be foretold. His efforts resulted in what the world calls 
failure, and for over two hundred years he has slept in the 
deepest obscurity, yet when we compare him with his con- 
temporaries, with the courtiers, Sir Walter Raleigh and 
Sir William Berkeley, with Cotton Mather, inciting the 
magistrates to hang old women for imaginary crimes, and 
see him wrestling with Cromwell, not for his own gain, 
but for the help of the downtrodden and the poor, teach- 
ing the separation of church and state, protesting against 
injuring the minds of children by dogma, and with so clear 
a sense of justice that even the vicious, when driven from 
the community, were to receive their share of the posses- 
sions, we cannot help but recognize his merit and intelli- 
gence, and feel for him that sympathy that makes us all 
akin. When we find him, first of all the colonizers of 
America, so long ago as 1662, announcing the broad prin- 
ciple that " no lordship or servile slavery shall burden our 
company," he seems to grow into heroic proportions. 
Whatever else may happen, certain it is that the events of 
the life of one, whose book marks the very beginning of 
the literature and history of the ten millions of people who 
now live in the States along the Zuid Rivier, must always 
be of keen interest to them and their descendants. The 
copy of this book, from which an English translation has 
here been made, belonged in 1865 to Samuel L. M. Bar- 
low, of New York, and because of its great interest and 
excessive rarity the Knickerbocker Club undertook its re- 
production. The translator, however, met with such diffi- 
culty in the rendition of the black letter Dutch that it led 
to delay and the abandonment of the enterprise. 124 

12J Growoll's American Book Clubs, p. 126. 




CHAPTER X. 

The Pietists — Henry Bernhard Koster, Johannes 

Kelpius, Daniel Falkner and the Woman 

in the Wilderness. 



ERHARD CROESE, 

the historian of the 
Quakers, writing in 1696 
of the followers of Spener and 
the believers in the mystical 
theology of Jacob Boehm, 
the inspired shoemaker of 
Gorlitz, says : " And there is 
no occasion here to relate how 
much vexation and trouble 
their Ministers, and other 
good men, had in Holland, 
both from the old Weigelian family, and from this new 
brood of Teutonicks ; seeing this is so well known there and 
in every body's mouth ; But this is not to be past over so far 
as it has relation to the affairs of the Quakers. Among 
these few mystical men there was one John Jacob Zimmer- 
man, Pastor of the Lutheran Church in the Duchy of 
Wirtemburg, a Man skilled in Mathematicks, and, saving 

212 




Arms used by the brother 
of Kelpius. 



Johann Jacob Zimmcrmann. 213 

what he had contracted of these erroneous opinions, had 
all other excellent endowments of mind, to which may be 
added the temperance of his Life, wherein he was inferior 
to none, and who was of considerable fame in the world; 
Who when he saw there was nothing but great danger 
like to hang over himself and his Friends, he invites and 
stirs up through his own hope about sixteen or seventeen 
Families of these sort of Men, to prefer also an hope of 
better things, tho it were dubious before the present dan- 
ger, and forsaking their Country which they through the 
most precipitous and utmost danger, tho they suffered Death 
for the same, could not help and relieve as they supposed, 
and leaving their Inheritance which they could not carry 
along with them, to depart and betake themselves into 
other parts of the world, even to Pensilvania, the Quakers' 
Country, and there divide all the good and evil that befell 
them between themselves, and learn the Languages of 
that People, and Endeavour to inspire Faith and Piety into 
the same Inhabitants by their words and examples which 
they could not do to these Christians here. These agree 
to it, at least so far as to try and sound the way, and if 
things did not go ill, to fortify and fit themselves for the 
same. Zimmerman having yet 125 N. Koster for his Col- 
league, who was also a famous Man, and of such severe 
manners that few could equal him, writes to a certain 
Quaker in Holland who was a Man of no mean Learning, 
and very wealthy, very bountiful and liberal towards all 
the poor pious and good : That as he and his followers 
and his friends designed [they are the very words of the 
letter which is now in my custody] to depart from these 
Babilonish Coasts, to those American Plantations, being 
led thereunto by the guidance of the Divine Spirit, and 

125 Henry Bernhard Koster. 



214 The Settlement of Germantown. 

that seeing that all of the?n wanted worldly substance that 
they would not let the?n want Friends, but assist them 
herein that they might have a good ship well provided for 
them to carry them into those places, wherein they might 
ihind this one thing, towit to show with unanimous consent, 
their Faith and Love in the Spirit, in converting of Peo- 
ple, but at the same time to sustain their bodies by their 
daily Labour. So great was the desire, inclination and 
affection of this Man towards them, that he forthwith 
promised them all manner of assistance, and performed it 
and fitted them with a ship for their purpose, and did out 
of that large Portion of Land he had in Pensilvania, assign 
unto them a matter of two thousand and four hundred 
acres forever of such Land as it was, but such as might 
be manured, imposing yearly to be paid a very Small mat- 
ter of rent upon every Acre, and gave freely of his own 
and what he got from his friends, as much as paid their 
charge and Passage, amounting to an hundred and thirty 
pounds sterling ; a very great gift, and so much the more 
strange, that that same Quaker should be so liberal, and 
yet would not have his name mentioned, or known in the 
matter. 126 But when these Men came into Holland they 
sailed from thence directly for Pensilvania. Zimmerman 
seasonably dies, but surely it was unseasonable for them, 
but yet not so, but that they all did cheerfully pursue their 
Voyage, and while I am writing hereof, I receive an ac- 
count, that they arrived at the place they aimed at, and 
they all lived in the same house, and had a publick Meet- 
ing, and that they took much pains, to teach the blind peo- 
ple to become like unto themselves, and to conform to 
their examples." 127 



126 After a lapse of two hundred years his name may be now mentioned. 
It was Benjamin Furly. 
127 Croese, Vol. II., p. 262. 



THE SETTLEHENT OF GERHANTOW/N. 




V\ob-rriam . 'Merchant Jio 5 rtssso 



BOOK-ELATE OF BENJAHIN FURLY. 

ORIGINAL IN THE BRITISH MUSEUM. 



Voyage to America. 215 

Johannes Kelpius opened his Latin journal with a quo- 
tation from Seneca "Unto whatever land I come, I 
come to my own. There is no banishment, every country 
is my country and every where there is good. If a man 
be wise he is a traveller, if a fool an exile." From it we 
learn that among these mystical Pietists were Kelpius from 
Denndorf in Transylvania, Henry Bernhard Koster of 
Blumenberg, Daniel Falkner of Saxony, Daniel Lutke, 
Johannes Seelig of Lemgo, Ludwig Bidermann of Anhalt, 
Henry Lorenz, whose little six-months-old son died and 
was buried at sea, George G. Lorenz and Peter Schaeffer, 
a Finlander. 

Among the company, which consisted of about forty 
persons, were also the widow of Zimmermann and their 
children, Maria Margaretha, baptized Oct. 10, 1675, Philip 
Christian, baptized Feb. 18, 1678, Matthaius, baptized 
June 25, 1680, and Jacob Christoph, baptized May 14, 
i683- 12S They left Rotterdam in August of 1693 and re- 
mained in London for six months. In February they 
went down the Thames in a sloop to Gravesend and there 
embarked on a ship the " Sarah Maria" armed with four- 
teen cannon. On the 16th the ship ran aground, and 
when signals of distress brought no assistance, their pray- 
ers prevailed and a great wave lifted it off the bank in 
safety. On the 21st they arrived at Deal and there waited 
two weeks for a convoy. Four days they were in the 
channel in the midst of severe storms which made their 
ship dance about " like a little ball which most of us were 
not accustomed to." For five weeks they lay at Plymouth 
awaiting the convoy. For amusement they had discus- 
sions upon the Scriptures and prayer meetings, at which 
they sang hymns of praise and joy and played upon the 



128 Sachse's Pietists. 



216 The Settlement of Germantozvn. 

musical instruments they had brought with them. On the 
18th of April they set sail. Though once the gale snapped 
two of the masts, there was no danger on the ocean be- 
cause the water was as deep below as the highest clouds 
were above the earth, and there was nothing for the ship 
to strike against. Fish of monstrous size spouted water 
" as fire engines do." One day they caught a big fish 
which the English called a shark. It had a way " of 
prowling after ships so as to snap up people." On the ioth 
of May they encountered a hostile French frigate of 
twenty-four guns and a merchant ship with six guns. 
The cannon opened fire and the Pietists " abstained of 
carnal weapons, and taking the shield of faith, sat down 
between desks behind boxes and cases, and prayed and in- 
voked the Lord everyone for himself." The result was 
that the Merciful Father caused the balls to " drop into the 
water in front of the ship," and after one of them had 
knocked a bottle out of the hand of the Captain's boy, and 
a Frenchman while aiming with a rifle at the Captain was 
killed, the Lord struck the enemy with fear and they fled. 
The battle lasted four hours and one hostile ship with 
twenty-four Frenchmen was captured. It contained sugar 
and cider, and an equal share of the " unjust mammon" 
was allowed to all. On the 14th of June they entered the 
Chesapeake Bay, and two days before had had their first 
glimpse of the American coast. There must have been 
some dissensions among them, probably over some prob- 
lem presented by the mysteries of Boehm which were not 
all " Morning Redness," because before they landed, 
Koster had excommunicated Falkner, together with a 
woman, Anna Maria Schuchart, who saw visions and had 
been left behind in Germany. They were pleased with 
America, because here one could be "peasant, scholar, 



The Woman in the Wilderness. 217 

priest and nobleman all at the same time without interfer- 
ence." They landed at Bohemia Manor, arrived in Phil- 
adelphia June 23, 1694, and thence proceeded to German- 
town, where in the house of Jacob Isaacs Van Bebber, 
they held three meetings a week at which Koster spake 
publicly. He also spoke once a week in English in Phil- 
adelphia. In August, of 1694, a gentleman of Philadel- 
phia gave them one hundred and seventy-five acres of 
ground, three miles from Germantown, upon the ridge and 
on it they at once began to build a log house. 129 It was a 
little block house of trees laid one upon another cleared 
out of the forest, and to save themselves from hunger they 
planted Turkish corn. They called themselves " The con- 
tented of the God-loving Soul " ; but since they maintained 
that the sixth verse of the Twelfth Chapter of Revelations 
indicated, when properly interpreted, the near approach of 
the coming of Christ, the name given them by those who 
surrounded them was "The Society of the Woman in the 
Wilderness," and like such names as Quaker and Metho- 
dist, at first used in derision, it has clung to them. It was 
their purpose to refrain from marriage, " according to the 
better advice of Saint Paul," but ere long this rule was 
broken by Bidermann, who before August had been united 
with Maria Margaretha Zimmermann, and having sepa- 
rated from the community, had gone to live apart in Ger- 
mantown. Muhlenberg, who came to Pennsylvania a half 
century later, reports from tradition that they cared noth- 
ing for the sacraments of baptism and the Eucharist, re- 
garding the Holy writ as a dead letter in this respect, 
but that they busied themselves with the Theosophical 
Sophia and speculations and practical alchemy. They 



129 See Journal Penna. Magazine, Vol. II., p. 427, and Adelung's Life of 
Koster. 



218 The Settlement of Germantozvn. 

were always awaiting and looking for the coming of the 
Millennium. There is a record at Ephrata that upon the 
seventh anniversary of their arrival, which they had pre- 
pared to celebrate with special effort, and while in the 
midst of their ceremonies, " a white obscure moving body 
in the air, attracted their attention, which as it approached, 
assumed the form and mien of an angel. It receded into 
the shadows of the forest and appeared again immediately 
before them as the fairest of the lovely." 130 They watched 
through the night, and the second night, without further 
disclosures. The third night the apparition was again 
present. They fell upon their knees, but alas, the pray- 
ers they uttered seemed to repel rather than to attract the 
ethereal divinity, and so " Kelpius and his brethren re- 
mained at the Laurea, wearing out the thread of life in re- 
tirement and patient waiting for the final drama they were 
to enact in the wilderness." The Chronicon Ejyhratense 
says that after the death of Kelpius, the tempter found oc- 
casion to scatter them and that " those who had been most 
zealous against marrying, now betook themselves to 
women again." 

Johann Jacob Zimmermann, the original founder of 
this community of Mystics, was born at the village of 
Vaihingen, on the Entz, in the Duchy of Wiirtemburg, 
in 1644, and displaying great zeal in learning, was taken 
into the service of the Duke at the age of seventeen. He 
was then sent to the University of Tubingen, where he 
was graduated in 1664, as Master of Philosophy, and at 
once there became an instructor in arithmetic. He en- 
tered the Lutheran ministry, and, from 1671 to 1684, was 
in charge of the church at Bietigheim. He became, how- 
ever, profoundly impressed with the views of Jacob Boehm, 
whose influence upon theological thought has been most 

130 Sachse's Pietists. 



Johann Jacob Zimmermann. 219 

remarkable and extensive, and regarding the great comet 
of 1680 as a warning, he prophecied the near approach of 
the destruction of the world. Getting into controversy 
with the orthodox, and being accused of trying to elevate 
Boehm above the apostles, of teaching astrology, magic 
and cabbalism, he was tried and deposed from the ministry. 
From 1684 to 1689, he was professor of mathematics in 
Heidelberg University. He had the support of a promi- 
nent minister of state, but persisting in views regarded as 
peculiar, and maintaining that an invasion by the French 
was a visitation by the Lord, because of his persecution, 
he lost position and influence. He was the author of at 
least eighteen published works upon theology and astron- 
omy. He died on his way to Pennsylvania in 1693. 
Gottfried Arnold, in his Kirchen and Ketzer Historie, 
Vol. III., p. 913, describes Zimmermann as a very learned 
astrologus, magus, cabalista, and preacher, and says he 
was deposed because of his attachment to the doctrines of 
Boehm, and because in 1689, he published a tract on the 
extension of common love to the remaining Jews, Turks 
and heathen. On the 25th of the 10th month, 1694, his 
widow " was received gratis" into the corporation of Ger- 
mantown. 131 

Henry Bernhard Koster, who from the exercise of the 
power of excommunication, would seem to have succeeded 
Zimmermann, was the son of Ludolph Koster, burgo- 
master and merchant at Blumenberg, where he was born 
in November, 1662. He entered the town school of his 
native city, and when the rector there, Vogelsang, became 
director of the grammar school at Detmold, Koster fol- 
lowed him and remained four years under his instruction. 
He was at the gymnasium at Bremen five years, studied law 

131 Among his many descendants in Pennsylvania is Thomas Allen 
Glenn, the genealogist. 



220 The Settlement of Germantown. 

three years at Frankfurt-on-the-Oder, and left the Uni- 
versity in 1684 in the twenty-second year of his age. He 
possessed much talent, which he used for his own advance- 
ment and for the instruction of youth. He was first tutor 
in the family of Aulic Counsellor Polemius, in Kustrin, 
and by instructing his pupils, not in the ordinary methods, 
but by attractive discourses, he became known to Privy 
Counseller Otto von Schwerin, at Berlin, who, in 1685, 
made him tutor to his three sons. Here he had the ad- 
vantage of a great library. From Walton's Polyglot he 
derived a fondness for the eastern languages and for the- 
ology. Conceiving a mistrust for the accepted text of the 
Hebrew Bible, he made a translation from the Septuagint 
version into the German. His patron had influence with 
the Prince of Brandenburg, and offered him an important 
position. But Koster declined to go to the court, where 
there were so many temptations to sin, and emigrated in- 
stead to Pennsylvania. He had been in the service of the 
Baron von Schwerin for seven years. Just before the ar- 
rival of the mystics in Pennsylvania there had occurred 
the division among the Quakers, caused by George Keith. 
When Koster began to preach in the English language he 
was attended by the Keithian separatists in large numbers. 
His success led him to entertain the hope of establishing a 
sect based upon his own peculiar views, and no doubt led 
ultimately to his separation from the community upon the 
Ridge. He bore an active part in the Keith controversy 
and caused great commotion among the Quakers. In 
1696, taking with him six others, he went to the yearly 
meeting at Burlington, where there were in attendance 
about four thousand people and thirty preachers. He 
asked to be heard, but no attention was paid to him. 
Finally he insisted while one of their preachers was 



Henry Bcrnhard Kostcr. 221 

speaking, and since the preacher had a weak voice, and 
Koster one which was loud and powerful, he succeeded 
in making himself heard, although all the preachers got 
upon the bench and tried to prevent him. He cried, " I 
raise my voice against you with the full witness of the 
word of God in order to oppose, out of the Holy Scripture, 
your blasphemous teaching, which is worse than that of 
the heathens of America, namely, the teaching of your 
spiritual Jesus, and that the body which Jesus had on earth 
disappeared in the clouds on his journey to Heaven." 
And he closed with, "Now to-day has the light of the 
Scriptures appeared in the second American darkness, 
and its strength you shall learn, not only here in Burling- 
ton, but in all the colonies." He wrote an account of the 
affair called " History of the Protestation Done in the 
Publick Yearly Meeting of the Quakers at Burlington in 
the }^ear 1696," published by William Bradford in New 
York, 1697. It is pointed out by Sachse that this work, 
of which, unfortunately, we have no copy, issued in both 
German and English, has the distinction of being the first 
book printed in the German language in America. Nor 
have we the exact title. Pastorius, in his reply, refers to 
it as " Advice for all professors and writers," and says 
Koster arrived here " his heart and head filled with whim- 
sical and boisterous imaginations, but his hands and purse 
emptied of the money which our friends beyond the sea 
imparted unto him and some of his company." About this 
time, differing with Kelpius, he endeavored to establish a 
community, based upon a common ownership of goods, 
on some lands given to him in Plymouth, to be called 
"The True Church of Philadelphia or Brotherly Love." 
A house was built styled " Irenia," or the house of peace. 
The attempt, however, failed, the people, who never num- 



222 The Settlement of Germantotvn. 

bered more than four or five, scattered, and the land re- 
verted to the donor. He persuaded some of the Keithians 
to permit him to baptize them. He chose for the purpose 
the river near Philadelphia and made an address before a 
great concourse of people, wherein he sought to show that 
he had a right to baptize as the apostles did. Then he 
baptized one after the other and dismissed each with the 
words, "Go forth and do this all the days of thy life." 
But he had awakened the animosity of the Quakers ; he 
had become separated from the community on the Ridge, 
and the Keithians gradually drifted back into connection 
with the church of England. In December, 1699, he 
went from Pennsylvania to Virginia, and thence in Jan- 
uar}?-, 1700, in a tobacco ship, to London, and soon after- 
ward to Amsterdam. At this time the Duchess Charlotta 
Sophia had a claim against the Duke Ferdinand of Cur- 
land, which Koster undertook to secure for her. He went 
to Stockholm in 1702, followed the King, who was with 
his army in Poland, and there in camp before Thoren, 
succeeded in compelling the Duke to pay a part of the 
money. For several years thereafter he taught languages 
at Hamburg. The Baron von Schaak, the Danish Am- 
bassador to England, at this time wanted a tutor for his 
sons and Koster was selected for the place, and he re- 
mained upon the estate of the Count as tutor for seven 
years. In 1724 he went to Berleburg, where he was un- 
der the protection of Count Casimir von Sayn and Wit- 
genstein. In 1735 he was teaching eastern and western 
languages in Hanover. He claimed to know and to un- 
derstand most of the languages of the world. But among 
them all his Holy languages were the Greek, the German, 
the Bohemian and the Hebrew, in which he at all times re- 
peated his prayers. He maintained stoutly that he would 



THE SETTLEHENT OF GERHANTOW/N. 




CAVE OF JOHANNES KELFIUS. 

AS IT APPEHRS IN 1899. 



Johannes Kclftius Transylvanns. 223 

never die, and he came pretty near keeping his word, 
since he reached the age of ninety-eight years, and re- 
tained his health and vivacity until the last. He died in 
1749. His publications, in addition to those already men- 
tioned were five in number. 132 

Johannes Kelpius was born in 1673, at or near Denn- 
dorf, in Transylvania, and was the son of George Kel- 
pius, a clergyman. When he was only twelve years of 
age, his father died. Three friends of the family sent 




him to the high school at Tubingen, and later to the Uni- 
versity, where he was graduated at the age of sixteen as 
Doctor of Philosophy and the liberal arts. He wrote a 
Latin thesis, " Theologia Naturalis, seu Metaphysicae 
Metamorphosis sub moderamine Viri M. Dan. Guilh. 
Molleri, pro summis honoribus, et privilegiis philosophicis 
legitime obtinendis, die 15 Jun, 1689. Altforfii." In 
1690, together with his teacher, Dr. Johannes Fabricius, 
a celebrated theologian, he wrote a work in eighteen chap- 
ters entitled " Scylla Theologiae, aliquot exemplis Patrum 
et Doctorium Ecclesiae qui cum alios refutare laborarent 
fervore disputationis obrepti in contrarios errores misere 
inciderent, ostensa, atque in materiam disputationis pro- 
posita a Joh Fabricio. S. Theol. P. F. et M. Joh Kelpio. 



132 Life of Hendrick Pannebecker, p. 107. Adelung's Geschichte der 
menschlichen Narrheit, Vol. VII., p. 86. 



224 



The Settlement of Germantown. 




The Lamenting Voice of the Hidden Love. 225 

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Title page of Witt's translation of the hymns of Kelpius. 



226 The Settlement of Germantown. 

Altdorfii, 1690." The same year he wrote an essay upon 
the question whether it was fitting that a Christian youth 
should listen to the heathen philosophy of Aristotle. It 
was entitled: " Inquisitio an Ethicus Ethnicus, aptus sit 
Christianae Inventutis hodiernas, sive ; An Juvenis Chris- 
tianus sit idoneus auditor ethices Aristotelieae. Resp Bal- 
thos Blosio Norimb. 1690." 

Meeting with Zimmermann in Nuremburg, he became 
a convert and when only twenty years of age, started for 
Pennsylvania. After the withdrawal of Koster he became 
the head of the community on the Ridge. Of his work 
while here we have his Latin Journal of the voyage, a 
copy of a letter in German to Heinrich Johannes Deich- 
man, of London, September 24, 1697, a copy of a letter 
in German to Deichman, May 12, 1699, sent through Jan 
van Loevenigh, of Crefeld, a letter in English, in 1699, 
to Stephen Mumford, of Long Island, a letter in Latin to 
the Swede Rev. Eric Biork, a letter, October 10, 1704, in 
German to Maria Elizabetha Gerber, in Virginia, a letter 
in July, 1705, to Dr. Fabricius, in German, a letter in 
German to Deichman, July 23, 1705, and a letter of May 
25, 1706, to Esther Palmer, of Long Island, in English. 
There is also a manuscript volume of hymns, now in the 
possession of the Historical Society of Pennsylvania, writ- 
ten in German, and translated into English, not very effec- 
tively, by Dr. Christopher Witt. Prefixed to this volume 
is a portrait of Kelpius upon canvas, by Witt and on the 
title page the hymns are said to have been written by one 
" In Kummer" thus concealing the initials of the author in 
an anagram. The volume is dated in 1705, and the por- 
trait, probably taken from life, is evidently contemporary 
with the book, and is believed to be the earliest extant por- 
trait painted in America. One of the hymns upon the sub- 
ject of Peacefulness, written, Kelpius says, as he lay in 



THE SETTLEMENT OF GERMANTOWN. 




705. 



PORTRAIT Of JOHANNES KELP1US. BY CHRISTOPHER WITT. IN 

BELIEVED TO BE THE EARLIEST AFRICAN PORTRAIT 111 OIL. ^ ^ 



Johannes Ketyius. 227 

" Christian Warmer's house very weak, in a small bed, 
not unlike a coffin, in May, 1706," begins : 
" Hier lieg ich geschmieget 

Erkrancket im Schrein 

Fast ganzlich besieget 

Von siissesster Pein." 

and was to be sung to the popular tune of "So wunsch ich 
nun eine gute nacht." A musical score accompanies each 
of the hymns. He is also said to have written "Eine kuerze 
und begreifliche Anleitung zum stillen Gebet," which was 
translated into English and printed by Sower in 1763. 

On the 24th of January, 1700, he was appointed, to- 
gether with Daniel Falckner and Johannes Jawert, agent 
for the Frankfort Land Company, but he declined to serve. 
He was impressed with the belief that he would not die, 
but be taken to Heaven bodily like Elijah. Being slight 
and delicate, he caught a severe cold, which ended in 
consumption and he died in 1708. Muhlenberg gives a 
strange account of his closing hours from the report of his 
friend, Daniel Geissler. For three long days and nights 
he prayed that body and soul might remain united and be 
transfigured. At last he gave up and said : " My beloved 
Daniel, I am not to have that for which I hoped. I have 
received my answer. Dust I am and to dust I must re- 
turn. It is ordained that I shall die like all the children 
of Adam." He then gave Geissler a sealed casket and 
told him to take it to the river Schuylkill and throw it into 
deep water. Geissler took it to the bank, but concluded to 
hide it until after the death of his master, and then examine 
the contents. Upon his return, Kelpius arose, looked him 
in the eyes sharply, and said, " Daniel, thou hast not done 
as I bid thee. Thou hast not cast the casket into the river, 
but hast hid it by the shore." Then Geissler, convinced of 



228 The Settlement of Germantown. 

his master's occult force, hurried to the bank and threw it 
into the river. It fell with flashes like lightning and peals 
like thunder. This story sounds very much like another 
version of the death of King Arthur, and the experience 
of Sir Bedivere with the sword Excalibur. 
In one of his hymns Kelpius writes : 
" Doch weil ich am Reigen 

Des Todes noch geh' 

Und kan nicht versteigen 

Die Englische Hoh," 

which I translate : 

" And since I am mortal 
Whom death will not slight, 
And cannot mount upward 
The angelic height." 

This expresses a thought entirely contrary to the belief 
attributed to him by Muhlenberg, whose orthodox training 
sometimes prevented him from getting the measure ac- 
curately of the faiths of those not in the church. 

Peter Miller, the Prior of Ephrata, who was more sym- 
pathetic, gave this account of him : Kelpius, educated 
in one of the most distinguished universities of Europe, 
and having had advantage of the best resources for the 
acquirement of knowledge, was calculated to edify and 
enlighten those who resorted to him for information. He 
had particularly made great progress in the study of ancient 
law, and was quite proficient in theology. He was inti- 
mately acquainted with the works of the rabbins, the 
heathen and stoic philosophers, the fathers of the Chris- 
tian church, and the reformers. He was conversant with 
the writings of Tertullian, St. Jerome, St. Augustine, St. 
Cyprian, Chrysostom, Ambrose, Tauler, Eck, Myconius, 
Carlstadt, Hedio, Faber, Osiander, Luther, Zwinglius, 



Journal of Kelp ins. 



229 



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230 The Settlement of Germantozvn. 

and others, whose opinions he would frequently analyze 
and expound with much animation. He was also a strict 
disciplinarian, and kept attention directed inwards upon 
self. To know self he contended is the first and most es- 
sential of all knowledge. Thales, the Milesian, he main- 
tained, was the author of the precept, "Know Thyself," 
which was adopted by Chilo, the Lacedamonian, and is 
one of the three inscriptions which, according to Pliny, 
was consecrated at Delphos by golden letters, and acquired 
the authority of divine oracle. 

It was supposed to have been given by Apollo, of which 
opinion Cicero has left a record. He directed a sedulous 
watchfulness over the temper, inclinations and passions 
and applauded very much the counsel of Marcus Aurelius : 
" Look within ; for within is the formation of good." 

Kelpius has become widely and popularly known as 
" The Hermit of the Wissahickon." 

Daniel Falckner, another of the emigrants of 1694, was 
born in Langen Reinsdorf, in Saxony, Nov. 24, 1666, 
and was the son of Daniel and grandson of Christian 
Falckner, both of whom were clergymen. He also was 
educated for the ministry. A description of the voyage 

to America, from which we 
j^/ . get much information, is be- 

e/O't^iA iKsT ii evec i by Seidensticker to have 
been written by him. In 1698 
he went back to Europe in an effort to bring another 
colony to Pennsylvania. While there he wrote a little 
volume published at Franckfurt, in 1702, a copy of which 
I have, entitled " Curieuse Nachricht von Pennsylvania 
in Norden America," in which he describes himself as a 
professor, burgher and pilgrim. He came back holding 
authority to represent the Frankfort Land Company, but 



ya/rudc 



Johann Seelig. 231 

his efforts were not very successful, and it appears both 
from the statements of Pastorius and the court records that 
he was for a time given to indulgence. He married and 
separated from the community on the Ridge. His manner 
of life no doubt improved, since Sachse has shown that he 
later became pastor of the Lutheran congregations on the 
Raritan, and elsewhere in New Jersey, where he spent 
much time in botanical studies, and was living respected 
until as late as 1741. " Falckner's Swamp" in Mont- 
gomery Co., Pa., still bears his name. 

Johann Seelig, a teacher and a bookbinder, was born at 
Lengo, Lippe Detmold, in 1668. Saur, in 1739, published 
in Germantown a little volume entitled " Ein Abgenoth- 
igter Bericht," the only known copy of which I have, 
wherein he tells of a certain Dr. Schotte, whose letters he 
prints, and who, he says, preached in 1687 with so much 
fervor that his hearers were astounded and " fell upon the 
earth and lay together in heaps as if dead." Schotte 
stretched out his arm as stiff as an iron bar, so that many 
men could not move it. He rode through the cities and to 
the universities of Europe and brought one hundred and 
forty-five people together, giving them each a distinctive 
name. Among them were many of the Pietists, Dr. Jo- 
hann Wilhelm Petersen, as Elias ; Spener, as Nicodemus ; 
Johann Heinrich Sprogell, as Philemon ; Daniel Falckner, 
as Gaius ; Johannes Kelpius, as Philologus ; Johanna Elea- 
nora Von Merlau as Sara ; the widow Schiitz, as Susanna ; 
and Johann Seelig, as Pudens. Of Seelig's life in Pennsyl- 
vania all that seems to be known is that Kelpius was much 
attached to him ; that, May 12, 1699, he wrote a long letter 
to Deichman, in London, couched in the mystic language 
of his sect ; that he lived the life of a hermit eight miles 
from Philadelphia, where he bound books and taught the 



232 The Settlement of Germantown. 

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Justus Falckner. 233 

children, and that he died April 26, 1745, aged seventy- 
seven years. 

Justus Falckner, brother of Daniel, was born Nov. 22, 
1672, and in 1693 was a student in the University at Halle. 
We are told by Biorck that he left his home " to escape the 
burden of the pastorate." He wrote a number of hymns 
which are still preserved. In 1700 he came with his 
brother to Pennsylvania. He was ordained by Rudman 
in the old Swedes Church at Wiccacoe on Nov. 24, 1703, 
and from that time was pastor of the Holy Trinity Lu- 

theran Church in New York, until 1723. In 1708 he 
published in Dutch a " Grondlycke Onderricht," a cate- 
chism, printed by Bradford, in New York, the only known 
copy of which is in the library of the Historical Society 
of Pennsylvania and which was long supposed to be the 
first Dutch book printed in America. He married May 
26, 17 1 7, Gerritje Hardick, and had three children. 

Despite the earnest efforts of Mr. Sachse, who has given 
special attention to the subject, and of earlier writers, there 
is little definite information concerning the community 
upon the Ridge. Who composed the forty immigrants, be- 
side those named, we do not know. What they did and 
what was the manner of their lives is for the most part 
involved in hopeless obscurity. Though men of learning 
they seem to have given little attention to the affairs of this 
world, and to have fixed their patient expectations upon 
the rewards that were to come in the next, because of the 
self-denial exercised while here. 




CHAPTER XL 



The Indians. 




(5^HE settlers of German- 
Oj town, in making their 
homes out in the woods, 
in a new land, were brought 
into continual contact with 
the savages. Among them- 
selves there was much of 
wonderment, and among their 
relatives in Holland and Ger- 
many, much of curiosity with 
respect to the appearance, 
origin, habits and manner of 
life of these denizens of the forest. To this fact we owe 
the preservation of a series of pictures of Indian life at 
that early time, the most thorough and complete in exist- 
ence with respect to the Indians in the neighborhood 
of Philadelphia, enlivened with anecdote and filled with 

234 



Indian Habits. 235 

interesting details, which, because they were hidden in a 
foreign language and in inaccessible books, have remained 
almost entirely unknown. The Dutch and Germans at 
Germantown did not approach the Indians with a purpose 
of first getting their corn, and then killing them and takincr 
possession of their lands, a course of conduct prevalent in 
so many of the American colonies, 133 but they seemed to 
regard the situation as offering an unlimited opportunity 
for the cultivation of the Mennonite principles of peace and 
the extension of Pietistic mysticism. 

Pastorius says the wild people came to barter fish, 
birds, deer, and skins of beaver, otter, and foxes, some- 
times for drink, and sometimes for their own money, which 
consisted only of coral strung upon a string, and split 
mussel shells, some white and some a light brown. This 
kind of coral money they knew how to twist ingeniously 
together, and they used it instead of gold chains. The 
King had a crown of it. Twelve pieces of the brown and 
twenty-four of the white were worth a Frankfort albus. 

They were a strong, active and agile people, dark in 
color, who at first went naked, except a cloth around the 
loins, but had begun to wear shirts. They had coal black 
hair. They cropped the hair on the head, and smeared on 
fat and let a long cue grow on the right side. The child- 
ren at first were white enough, but their parents rubbed 
them with fat and exposed them to the hot sun, so as to 
make them brown. They are entirely candid, keep to 
their promises, and deceive and mislead nobody. They 
are hospitable and are true, and often live together quietly. 

133 41 And tooke with them parte of ye corne and buried up ye rest. . . . 
Hear they gott seed to plant them corne ye next year, or else they might 
have starved for they had none nor any likelihood to get any." " Others 
fell to plaine stealing both night and day from ye Indians." " Thus it 
pleased God to vanquish their enemies." Bradford's History of Plymouth. 



236 The Settlement of Germantozvn. 

Their huts are made of bent saplings, which they cover 
with bark. They use neither table nor bench, and have 
no furniture, except a pot, in which they cook their meat. 
He says : I once saw four of them eating together in the 
greatest pleasure, and all they had was a pumpkin cooked 
in water, without butter or spice. The table and bench 
were the dear earth. Their spoons were mussel shells, 
with which they supped up the warm water. Their plates 
were the leaves from a nearby tree, which they carefully 
washed after the meal, and preserved for the future. I 
thought to myself these wild people have never heard the 
teachings of Jesus concerning temperance and moderation 
in their whole lives, and yet observe them much better 
than Christians. They are earnest and use few words, 
and express wonder when they hear the continuous and 
light talk of the Christians. Each has but one wife, and 
they sorely hate whoring, kissing and lying. They have 
no images, but worship one almighty and good God, who 
restrains the power of the devil. They believe in an 
undying soul, which after the course of their life is run, 
may expect, through the almighty power of God, a suitable 
reward. They carry on their religious services with sing- 
ing, and make wonderful gestures and movements with 
their hands and feet, and when they remember the death 
of their relatives and friends, they begin to howl and weep 
very pitifully. In our meetings they are very still and at- 
tentive, so that I firmly believe at the day of judgment, 
they will sit above those of Tyre and Sydon and put to 
shame mere name and mouth Christians. As to their 
manner of living, the men do the hunting and fishing. 
The women bring up their children with the greatest care, 
and dissuade them from vice. They plant about their huts 
Indian corn and beans, but pay no attention to further 



Indian Habits. 



237 



cultivation of the ground, and to cattle, and wonder much 
that the Christians are so much troubled over eatino- and 
drinking, clothing and houses, as though they doubted 
that God would care for them. Their speech is very- 
grave, and in pronunciation, like the Italian, but the words 
are entirely strange. They dye their faces, both men and 
women use tobacco, and spend their time with a pipe in 
their mouths in continual idleness. 

I was the other day at the table of our Governor 
William Penn, and met there a King of the savages. 
William Penn told him that I was a German, and came 
from lands the farthest away. A few days afterwards he 
came with his Queen to Germantown to see me. I treated 
them as well as I could with food and drink, whereupon 
he showed a great attachment to me and called me Caris- 
simo, which is brother. Another time King Colkamicha 
came to our Governor and showed a great inclination to 
the Christian religion and to the light of the truth in his 
heart. He had an unexpected attack of disease, deter- 
mined to stay with us, and as his illness increased, had his 
nephew, Jahkiolol, brought to him, and in the presence of 
many of our people and his, in these words, made him 
King: 

" My brother's son, on this day I give thee my heart in 
thy bosom, and I will that thou lovest that which is good, 
and shunnest that which is evil and evil company ; also 
when there is any discourse, do not speak first, but let 
all speak before thee, and take well in thought what 
each says, and when thou hast heard all, take that which 
is good, as I have done. Although I had intended to make 
Schoppii king in my stead, I have learned from my phy- 
sician that Schoppii told him secretly since I was sick not 
to cure me or make me better, and when he was with me 



238 The Settlement of Germaniown. 

in Hulling Schead's house, 134 1 saw he was more inclined to 
be drunk than to listen to my words. Therefore, I said to 
him he should not be king, and I have chosen thee, my 
brother's son, in my place. Dear brother's son, I will that 
thou doest right by the Indians, as well as the Christians, 
as I have done. I am very weak or I would say more," 
and soon after he died. 

A very cunning savage came to me one day and 
offered to bring me a turkey hen for a certain price. But 
he brought me instead an eagle, and insisted upon it that 
it was a turkey. But I showed him that I knew very well 
the difference between the birds. Then he said to a Swede 
standing by that he had not supposed that a German so 
lately arrived would know these birds apart. 

They are much better contented with and more careless 
about the future than are we Christians. They circum- 
vent nobody in trade or conduct. They know nothing of 
the proud manner and modes of dress, to which we so ad- 
here. They do not swear and curse. They are temperate 
in eating and drinking, and if one once in awhile imbibes 
too much, the result is usually with the mouth-Christians, 
who, for their own profit, sell the cursed strong drink. 
During my ten years abode here I have never heard of 
their using force toward anybody, much less committing 
murder, which they could readily do in concealment in the 
great and thick woods. 

In reply to a question of his brother Augustine Adam, 
as to how the Indian kings held their courts, Pastorius 
says: Their royal palaces are so poorly constructed that 
I can scarcely describe them. There is only a single 
room or chamber in a tree hut covered with bark, without 



is* Hollingshead. 



Indian Education. 239 

chimney, steps or privy. These kings go upon the hunt, 
shoot wild animals, and earn their living with their hands. 
They have neither knights nor lackeys, nor maids nor 
maidens of state, and what would they do with a master 
of the stables who have no horse and go on foot. No 
tutor is necessary, where only the bodily wants of wife 
and children are to be supplied. They live in a state of 
nature, quae faucis contenta est. Their bartering with us 
Christians consists in this, that they bring to market bear, 
elk and deer hides, beaver, marten, otter and other skins, 
also turkeys, game and fish, for which they get powder, 
lead, woolen covers and brandy, which last with all strong 
drinks, it is contrary to law to sell, since it is misused by 
them and leads to their injury. They use no bakeoven, 
but bake their bread in the ashes. So many of these 
wild people have died since I came here that no more than 
a fourth remain of those who were here ten years ago. 

They are forest people who instruct one another, and 
the old teach the young by traditions. They are usually 
long of stature, strong of body, broad of shoulders and 
head, proud and stern in appearance, with black hair. 
They smear their faces with bear's fat, and all kinds of 
dyes, have no beard, are free and open in spirit, use few 
words, but do it with emphasis. They can neither read 
nor write, but are nevertheless intelligent, keen, earnest 
and unabashed. They purchase enough and pay readily, 
can endure hunger long, love drink, work but little, spend 
their lives in hunting and fishing, and no one of them can 
ride upon a horse. In summer they are covered with 
nature's covering, but in winter wrap themselves in a 
great square cloth, and cover themselves in their huts with 
bear and deer skins. Instead of shoes they use doeskins 
and have no hats. The women are light-hearted, chatty 
and proud, and bind their hair in a knot. They have high 



240 The Settlement of Germantoxvn. 

breasts and black necks, as are also their ears and arms, 
about which they hang coral. As the men hunt in the 
woods, so the women plant beans and Turkish corn. They 
love their children very much. As soon as they are born, 
they are bound upon shingles, and when they cry, are 
stilled by moving them rapidly to and fro. While still 
quite young they are put into the warm streams to harden 
them. When they are young they must catch fish with 
hooks, and as they grow stronger, they are exercised in 
hunting. The maidens when they are grown cover their 
faces, and thus show that they are ready to marry. All 
their crimes they punish with fines, even the death blow. 
If a man strike a woman, he must pay double, be- 
cause women bring forth children, which men cannot 
do. They say God dwells in the great sun land, to which, 
after death, they must hasten. Their religion consists of 
two kinds of service, singing and sacrifice. The first of 
the hunt they kill with such rapidity for sacrifices, that 
their bodies are thrown into perspiration. When they 
sing, they dance around in a circle, and in the midst two 
dance and start a sad song. All join in a wierd cry. 
Then they weep, snap with their teeth, soon crack their 
fingers, stamp with their feet, and continue this laughable 
play earnestly and zealously. When they are sick they 
eat no flesh, except that of a female. When they bury 
their dead, they throw whatever is valuable into the grave 
in order to give it to be understood that good will towards 
the departed has not perished. Their mourning, which 
continues for a whole year, is shown in their blackened 
faces. Their huts they build of trees and bushes, and no 
one of them is so unskilled in the art of building that he 
cannot construct one for himself and his family in three or 
four hours. 



Indian Language. 



541 



Their speech is shown in 
Eitanithap, 
A eitha, 
Tan Komi, 
Past ni anda qui, 
Gecho lucendi, 

o letto, 

Noha mattappi, 

Gecho Ki Wengkinum 

Husko Lallaculla, 

Langund ag boon, 

Lamess, 

Acothita, 

Hittuck nipa, 

Chingo Metschi, 

Alappo, 

Nacha Kuin, 

Alia, 

Squaa, 

Hexis, 

Menitto, 

Murs, 

Kusch Kusch, 

Wicco, 

Hockihockon, 

Pocksuckan, 



the following dialogue : 

Welcome, good friend. 

You, too, are welcome, 

Whence come you? 

Not from far. 

What is your name? 

Franciscus. 

It is good. 

Be seated. 
, What do you want? 

I am very hungry. 

Give me bread. 

Fish. 

Fruit. 

There is a tree full. 

When do you depart. 

To-morrow. 

Day after to-morrow. 

Mother. 

Wife. 

An old woman. 

The Devil. 

A cow. 

A pig. 

A house. 

Estate. 

Knife. 



Pastorius closes this letter and his description of the In- 
dians, by saying : " Whatever professor can hunt out the 
origin and roots of these Indian words will win my praise. 
Interim, my paper is small, the pen is a stump, the ink 
will not run, there is no more oil in the lamp, it is late at 



2 4 2 The Settlement of Germantown. 



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Falckncrs Book. 243 



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244 The Settlement of Germantozvn. 

night, my eyes are full of sleep. Take care of yourself. 
I close." 

Daniel Falckner, whose book, in 1702, is in great part 
made up of a description of the Indians and their habits, 
writes : Their number, since they have been attacked by 
the diseases brought by the Europeans into the country, 
have been very much decreased, so that where one hun- 
dred were seen thirty years ago there is now scarcely 
one. Others must bend to their humor and follow their 
inclinations, since they stand fast in their own way, and 
they do, speak and appear as they choose. The simple 
plan of going along with them is the best rule. When 
they are drunk it is better to let them alone. 

Their virtue of all virtues is to strive persistently for 
those things upon which they have determined. They are 
naturally simple in their wants, and therefore when they 
take trouble, they do not think of making a profit or benefit 
for themselves, but it gives them a satisfaction, since it 
can be seen that they can do it, although the great love 
for strong drink and the desire for better clothing give 
them the selfish wish for gain. They are generally so- 
ciable, generous, earnest and show wrath, especially to- 
wards their own people. The chief of their occupations 
is hunting and fishing, and their women plant a little In- 
dian corn, beans, pumpkins, melons, etc. They prepare 
skins and make stockings and liga, that is shoes, and 
also wooden platters and spoons out of the knots that grow 
on trees. The women cut wood, cook, wait upon the 
children, make purses of wild hemp, cards, tapestry of 
dyed straw, baskets of dyed bark, and covers twisted with 
feathers. Among the children there is seldom one crip- 
pled or lamed. It is remarkable that there is so little un- 
chastity among them, since they go nearly naked and 



Indian Habits. 



M5 



have every opportunity. Among us Europeans we have 
the punishment of the law and the earnest command of 
God, and yet the men cannot be made and kept as pure as 
these are without any law. The marriage ceremony is in 
this wise : The man gives the woman a deer foot, which 
imports that he will secure her meat. The woman gives 
the man a handful of corn, which imports that she will 
look after the bread and cooking. A man is permitted to 
have two wives if he undertakes to support them, but it is 
a reproach to them. 

It is easy to learn their language, since they have no 
more words than things. Their verbs and nouns have 
neither time nor number. The others are mere proper 
names and appellations. In the want of conjunctions they 
have taken some from the Swedes and others, to wit, Ok 
and Ni. 

They cannot say R. They talk more with their gestures 
and accent than with words ; therefore those who speak 
with them, and that of which he speaks, must be present. 
Thus they say Lanconti, when they want to give some- 
thing to somebody, and also when they have already given 
something. They cannot keep many things in their minds, 
and cultivate more the sense of oblivion than of science 
and memory, and therefore have no monuments of an- 
tiquity. But when they want something preserved they 
call their young people together and impress it upon 
them, and when they think it worth the trouble they com- 
mand these that they in turn in their old age tell it and 
impress it upon the young. In intercourse with them it is 
important to follow their humor and mingle in their earn- 
estness and laughter, since they are inclined to anger and 
easily think they are insulted. To secure and keep their 
confidence we let them come to our houses, and do not let 



246 The Settlement of Germantown. 

them go without eating and drinking, and when they come 
in the evening we give them permission to lie by the fire, 
and so when we go to them they are more kindly and hos- 
pitable. 

Good and evil are with them nature and custom, and 
have no certain boundaries. In murder, robbery and adul- 
tery, which are capital, the king speaks the sentence. 
The reward of the good consists in honor and in a present 
measured by their ability. Punishment is indicated by the 
words of the king, " Beat him dead," which the accused 
accepts, since they do not much regard life. 

Each king rules over a certain territory, and a king 
must be the best hunter and the bravest man, so as to be 
able to give the best counsel. The king's word is abso- 
lute, but he is himself the first to obey the command. His 
service does not differ from the rest, and he has no ser- 
vants. If he has enemies his retainers are at his command, 
and remain in their huts by him. He confers with the 
boldest of his people when anything of importance is to 
be considered. When there is room they sit around the 
king's fire. The property of the retainers is at his dispo- 
sal, but it does him no good, and the king's property is at 
the disposal of the retainers. Sometimes the retainers 
bring some of their money, which they call zvamfion, and 
is black and white, like a kind of enamel or glass pattern, 
or cut straw, which money is of value to the Europeans 
also, and Lagio is given for it. But they do not tell how 
they make it. When they go far upon a hunt, or to war, 
it is permitted to the women to go along, but the king 
orders some of the men to protect those who remain at 
home. Small crimes they punish with a fine. When a 
man dies in debt the relatives pay it, so that they be not 
disgraced. Still they ask indulgence. 



Indian Habits. 



247 



The king must be the wisest and most skillful, strong 
and the best hunter, therefore rule is not inheritable. He 
and his wife have somewhat more of ornament than the 
others, but it only appears in this, that they string their 
kind of money together like pearls, according to the shad- 
ing, and fasten them upon the head like a crown, or upon 
the breast, or in the top knot. 

Concerning their diseases and cures Falckner says : 
When they have feverish attacks, or do not feel well, 
they cook the black hulls of nuts in water and drink the 
extract in great quantities, and they bind themselves about 
the body and head with bands of coiled hemp. They 
sweat in the following manner : They make a low hut, 
just high enough to sit in and cover it to the ground with 
the bark of trees and skins. Then they heat some stones 
outside, and carrying them into the kennel, sit upon them 
and sweat so violently as to wet the earth. A European 
could not possibly stand it. When they have sweated 
sufficiently they run out and jump into the cold water. 
Then they are cured. 

They have a root which keeps away the snakes. They 
bind it upon the bone, and run into the woods and are un- 
injured by the snakes. If they have not this root, and are 
bitten, they cut the bite out of the flesh. 

To cure swellings, fluxes or sprains of the limbs they 
let them bleed, and cut with a sharp flint through the skin 
without touching a vein, which they know well how to 
avoid, and hold the member by the fire, and scrape off with 
a piece of wood the blood that prevents the flow till it stops 
bleeding. Then they wash the wound with water and lay 
on it a certain root, which they rub between two stones, and 
some little green leaves. In a single night the wound 
heals. When they get splinters in their feet they cut them 



248 The Settlement of Germantown. 

clean out with a knife and smear the wound with snake 
fat ; then it heals. 

For inner disorders they eat the small entrails of young 
Deasts with fat. 

They are seldom at peace. The fighting happens 
first in single parties, where man fights with man, or two 
or three together with bows, axes, reeds and flints, and it 
generally occurs upon their hunts. They take prisoners 
and sell them. When their enemies collect and form a 
battle array they arrange themselves in a circle, so that 
on all sides their faces are turned to the foe, and when one 
is shot dead or wounded they draw him inside the circle 
and make it smaller. When they take prisoners they sell 
two or three of the fattest to be broiled and eaten. All the 
southern Indians believe that a man cannot more avenge 
himself upon an enemy than by eating his flesh. They re- 
gard the flesh of the natives as better than game, for the 
reason that this flesh is not salted, but entirely sweet, but 
on the other hand that of the English and French is salty 
and disagreeable. They use all kinds of stratagems to 
overcome their enemies, whether single or in parties ; they 
examine the bushes and grass, from which they can tell 
with certainty whether a man, women or child, European 
or savage, has passed. They go in the night upon the 
high mountains and look around where fires are made 
in the woods. Then they go to the other side of the fire, 
creep up and shoot or kill their foes, while they are asleep. 
Against parties they make a plan to drive them into a 
corner, so that they may be taken prisoners. 

Their dwelling is in no settled place, and their house- 
keeping is variable. The house is sometimes made in an 
old fallen tree, but when complete it stands clear and is 
only the height of a man. In the middle it is open, so 



Making Pone. 249 

that the smoke of the fire, which is in the center, may es- 
cape. The hut is covered with the bark of trees, and in 
the same way is protected around. Inside they put straw 
or long grass. Some make tapestry of dyed straw and 
ornament the house, which, in their speech, is called a 
Wickwam. If they are caught away from home in the 
rain they take a cover they have with them and spread it 
out like a roof and get under it, or they make a great fire 
and throw foul wood upon it to make much smoke, and lie 
on that side of it toward which the wind drives the smoke, 
so that the smoke scatters the rain, and that which falls is 
by the smoke and heat made warm. In the huts they 
throw quantities of grass or deer skins, and at night cover 
themselves with them, or with bear skins, or with a woolen 
cover, or with a cover of turkey feathers, very skillfully 
worked together, and then they put the smallest child in 
front of them and one at the back. 

Their furniture consists of a piece of a hewed tree, or 
one which stands with its root in the ground, in the midst 
of which they burn a hole like a deep dish or mortar, in 
which they pound their Indian corn. They make bread 
of this corn, which they call Ponn, and they make soup of 
it, which they call Sapan. They sprinkle the corn with hot 
water, and beat it to get the peel off, and pound it small, 
sift the smallest through a straw basket, and make loaves 
like great goat's cheeses. They stick these in the hot 
ashes, and scrape the coals over them, and so bake them. 
When it is ready they wash the bread off with water. 
Sometimes they mix red or other colored beans under the 
bread, which then looks as though raisins were baked in 
it. 135 They have also a pot in which they cook the deer's 

135 I know of no other such graphic description of the Indian women 
making their pone. 



250 The Settlement of Germantown. 

meat, but this they do not wash, and think the strength 
would thus be taken out. Nor do they skim it, but what 
runs over they let go. They like the meat bloody and 
regard it as healthy. Then they cook beans or pounded 
corn in the meat broth. They cook also tortoises (terra- 
pin?) without a pot under the coals in their own shells. 
They do not take much time with birds when they are 
small, but burn the feathers off in the fire. But the feathers 
of turkeys they use to work into covers. They eat also 
foxes, fat dogs, civet cats, beavers, squirrels and hawks. 
For roasting they have nothing except a stake, which they 
make sharp at both ends. They stick one end in the 
ground ; upon the other end they stick the meat cut thin 
and at times turn it. 

The rest of their furniture is a calibash, or pumpkin, 
cleaned out to hold drink, wooden spoons which they make 
in their manner, and in case of need they use mussel or 
oyster shells. Their wooden dishes are made of the knots 
of trees and of hard pumpkin rind. Many of them have 
two or three sacks made of the wild hemp, shaded by dyes, 
brown, red and white, skillfully put together. They make 
smaller sacks of the straw of the Indian corn, in which 
they carry their furniture and a little hatchet, which they 
call Domehicken. They now get these from the Euro- 
peans. Formerly they used hard stones instead. Of this 
stone they also made their axes. There is a brown stone 
like a blood stone (jasper?) which they by many blows 
make sharp and pointed. Their barns they make in the 
earth, dig a hole the depth of a man, like a spring, line it 
with long grass, and there put their Indian corn, pumpkins 
and other things. Their dogs and pigs they accustom to 
come, not upon seeing them, but by following their voices. 
At nights they water their swine, and when they are fat, 



Indian Habits. 



251 



sell them to the Europeans for rum, since they do not much 
esteem pork. 

The women do not help each other at the births of their 
children, but they go off entirely alone to some previously 
selected place. Nevertheless there is never seen among 
them an ill formed or crippled child. The children are 
soon bound upon a little board, upon which they fasten a 
skin and cover' it with another, so that they can better be 
carried upon the back, and be held when they suck. 

They fish with hooks. They make stone dams and 
enclose the fish. They bind a long row of twigs with the 
leaves together and draw it through the water, by which 
means the fish are driven into a corner, and they then 
capture them with the hands. They also have boats of 
hollowed-out trees, with the crevices stopped with moss, 
in which they chase the sturgeon. They capture wild 
beasts by their rapid and continuous running, and by 
shooting them. Some beasts they hunt by night by the 
clear moon. The wild cats they shoot with arrows. The 
amphibia, such as rats, martens, etc., they take by night 
in traps like our marten traps. 

They have, by the presence and mode of life of the 
Europeans, learned to live in a disorderly manner in eat- 
ing, drinking, cursing, lying and cheating. One has 
shown the other the way. The Europeans have brought 
them brandy, beer, and other materials, and now the sav- 
ages seek them eagerly, and although it is forbidden by 
law, they find means to secure them to their injury. 

They make a hole or grave, in which they bury the 
dead, to whom they give something to eat, and besides 
what he especially cared for in life ; also his bow and ar- 
rows or a flint, so that he can hunt upon the way, since 
they believe he now journeys toward the warm or cold 



252 The Settlement of Germantown. 

country, according as he has lived a good or evil life. 
The grave is covered with wood and grass, and then earth 
is heaped upon it. The wife and children often go there 
and lament. They have a certain length of time, in which 
to think of the dead. During this time they disturb the 
earth on the grave, so that no grass can grow on it. 
When the time is over, no man is permitted to call the 
name of the dead, since he is now forgotten. 

They do not observe the seventh day. I once asked 
one of them why he worked upon Sunday. He gave me 
for answer that he must eat upon Sunday as upon other 
days, and therefore he must hunt, but that if he had had 
something on hand, then he would keep Sunday. 

Kelpius tells of a visit that Penn made to the Indians in 
1 701, at Kintika, and that he endeavored to inculcate in 
them a belief in the God who rules the Heavens and the 
earth. Kelpius, who, notwithstanding the assistance of 
Furly, was none too fond of the Quakers, reported that the 
Indians listened gravely, and replied: "You ask us to 
believe in the great creator and ruler of Heaven and 
earth, and yet you yourself do not believe nor trust Him, 
for you have taken the land unto yourself, which we and 
our friends occupied in common. You scheme night and 
day how you may preserve it, so that none can take it 
from you. Yea, you even scheme beyond your life, and 
parcel it out between your children, this manor for one 
child, that manor for another. We believe in God, the 
creator, and ruler of Heaven and earth. He maintains 
the sun. He maintained our fathers for so many many 
moons. He maintains us and we believe and are sure 
that He will also protect our children, as well as ourselves. 
And so long as we have this faith, we trust in Him, and 
never bequeath a foot of ground." 



Friendly Intercourse. 



253 



This friendly intercourse with the natives, based upon 
the principles of mutual advantage and assistance, and 
accompanied by an appreciation and recognition of their 
meritorious characteristics, contrasts forcibly with the burn- 
ing of the women and children of the Pequods and other 
similar events, which have stained our American annals. 123 



128 When Uncas, the Mohican, captured Miantonomo, the Narragansett, 
the Commissioners of Plymouth advised the savage to kill his enemy and 
he " accordingly executed him in a very faire manner." Bradford's His- 
tory of Plymouth, p. 507. 




A Germantown Colonial Doorway. 




CHAPTER XII. 



Germantown as a Borough, and its Book of Laws. 





FTER the town had become 
populous enough to war- 
rant its having control of 
its own affairs, a charter of incor- 
poration, dated May 31, 1691, 
was issued to Francis Daniel Pas- 
torius, bailiff ; Jacob Telner, 
Dirck op den Graeff, Hermann 
op den Graeff, and Thones Kun- 
ders, burgesses ; Abraham op 
den Graeff, Jacob Isaacs Van 
Bebber, Johannes Kassel, Heifert Papen, Hermann Bon 
and Dirck Van Kolk, committeemen, with power to hold 
a court and a market, to admit citizens, to impose fines, 
and to make ordinances. The bailiff and first two bur- 
gesses were constituted justices of the peace. 136 The primi- 
tive Solons and Lycurguses of Germantown did not want 
their laws to go unheeded. They were not keen enough 
to invent that convenient maxim Ignorantia legis neminem 
excusat. It was, therefore, ordered that " On the 19th 

136 Penna. Archives, Vol. I., p. III. 

2 54 



THE SETTLEMENT OF GERMANTOWN. 







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T1TLE.-FASTORIUS' MS. BOOR OF LAWS. 



The Weavers. 25 s 

of 1st mo. in each year the people shall be called together, 
and the laws and ordinances read aloud to them." 137 Oh 
ye modern legislators ! think how few must have been the 
statutes, and how plain the language in which they were 
written, in that happy community. 




L'^bfe 



As we have seen, the greater number of the first Cre- 
feld emigrants were weavers. This industry increased so 
that Frame described Germantown as a place — 

" Where lives High German people and Low Dutch 
Whose trade in weaving linnen cloth is much ; 
There grows the Flax as also you may know 
That from the same they do divide the tow;" 

and Thomas says they made " very fine German Linen 
such as no person of Quality need be ashamed to wear." 
When, therefore, Pastorius was called upon to devise a 
town seal, he selected a clover on one of whose leaves was 
a vine, on another a stalk of flax, and on the third a 
weaver's spool, with the motto, " Vinum, Linum, et Tex- 
trinum." This seal happily suggests the relations of the 
town with the far past, and it is a curious instance of the 
permanence of causes that these simple people, after the 
lapse of six centuries, and after being transplanted to a 
distance of thousands of miles, should still be pursuing 
the occupation of the Waldenses of Flanders. The cor- 
poration was maintained until January 11, 1707, but al- 
ways with considerable difficulty in getting the offices 
filled. Says Loher, "They would do nothing but work 

137 Raths Buch. 



256 The Settlement of Germantozvn. 

and pray, and their mild consciences made them opposed 
to the swearing of oaths and courts, and would not suffer 
them to use harsh weapons against thieves and tres- 
passers." Through conscientious scruples Arent Klincken 
declined to be burgess in 1695, Heivert Papen in 1701, 
Cornells Siverts in 1702, and Paul Engle in 1703 ; Jan 
Lensen to be a committeeman in 1701, Arnold Kuster and 
Daniel Geissler in 1702 ; Matteus Millan to be constable in 
1703 ; and in 1695 Albertus Brandt was fined for a failure 
to act as juryman, " having no other escape but that in 
court in Phila. he was wronged upon the account of a 
jury." New-comers were required to pay for the right of 
citizenship, and the date of the conferment of this right 
doubtless approximates that of the arrival. 138 

The records of the Court occasionally gave particulars 
which aid us in getting a view of the manner of life and 
habit of thought of the residents. Upon one occasion the 
Court was adjourned "by reason of the absence of some 
for religious meeting over Schuylkill." Intended mar- 
riages, and notices of things lost and found, were posted 
up in conspicuous places in the town. Both Maria Mar- 
garet Zimmermann, the widow of the astronomer, and Peter 
Cornelius Plockhoy were given the burgher right " gratis." 
Johannes Pettinger, on the 19th day of the nth month, 
1694, " did push, and evilly handle" Johannes Kuster, for 
which he was properly fined two shillings. 

On the 7th day of the 3d month, 1695, Peter Keurlis 
was attested : " why he did not come when the Justice sent 
for him. He answered : He had much work to do. 

"Whereupon he further was attested : Why he refused to 
lodge travellers ? Answer : He only intended to sell drink, 
but not to keep an ordinary. 

"Then he was attested : Why he did sell barley malt beer 

138 Raths Buch and Court Record. 



The Court. 257 

4d a quart against the law of this province ? Answer : He 
did not know such a law. Lastly, he was asked why he 
would not obey the law of Germantown corporation, which 
forbids to sell more than a gill of rum or a quart of beer 
every half a day to each individual. Answer : They be- 
ing able to bear more he could or would not obey that 
law." This recalcitrance led to a fine of five pounds. 
Keeping the fences in order and the hogs from running at 
large caused much trouble. John Silans confessed that 
on Sep. 6, 1695, " he did beat, wound and evilly entreat " 
John Pettinger, who apparently had a faculty for getting 
into scrapes, and was fined ten shillings. A jury found 
on 24th of 4th month, 1701, " we the jury find that through 
carelessness the cart and the lime killed the man. The 
wheel wounded the back of his head and it killed him." 

A defendant was brought into the court concerning cer- 
tain fees and charges and the accounts were produced be- 
fore him. He said : " The paper was cut off and blotted 
and that this was done since he delivered it to the Court 
and that who could trust such a Court?" This was too 
much, and the Court adjourned for four weeks. 

Reynier Peters was fined twenty shillings for calling 
the Sheriff "a rascal and a lyar " on the open street. 
George Muller was fined for laying a wager "to smoke 
above one hundred pipes in one day." Owners of lands 
were required to put stakes with their names on them along 
the boundaries. Nov. 28, 1704, Daniel Falckner came into 
Court and behaved very ill " like one that was last night 
drunk and not yet having recovered his witts." 

No serious crime and no attempt at oppression occurred 
during the fifteen years covered by the record. 139 

139 Collections of the Historical Soc. of Pa., Vol. I., p. 245. During 
the first eighteen years at Plymouth four men were hanged for murder 
and one escaped. Bradford's History of Plymouth, p. 432. 



2 5 8 



The Settlement of Germantown. 



The corporation laws, prepared by Pastorius and care- 
fully written by him and others in a volume in German 
and Dutch script, were supposed to have been utterly lost. 
The volume met with strange vicissitudes and was a few 
years ago discovered by accident in the possession of a 
citizen of one of the states on the Pacific slope. Up to 
the present time these laws have remained unknown and, 
constituting as they do the earliest body of municipal legis- 
lation extant in Pennsylvania and perhaps in the country, 
their historical importance cannot be overestimated. These 
laws and ordinances are as follows : 




The Lazvs of Germantozvn. 250 

Leges Pennsilvaniae 

h. e. 

The Great Law of the Province 
of Pennsilvania. 

Gal. 5 : 14 All the Law is fulfilled in one word in this : 
"Thou shallt love thy neighbour as thyself. Add Rom. 
13 : 3. Matth. 7 : 12. 

All things whatsoever ye would that men should do to 
you, do ye even so to them, for this is the law and the 
Prophets. Add, Caps 22x35 etc » 

Salus Populi Suprema Lex est. 
Francis Daniel Pastorius his book. 

1690. 

1. Copy of the Germantown Charter. 

2. Laws, Ordinances and Statutes of the Community of 
Germantown, made and published from time to time in 
meetings of the General Court of that place. 

3. The laws of the Province of Pennsilvania antecedent 
to the said Charter and By Laws. 

The law is good if a man use it Lawfully. 1 Tim. 1 : 8. 

Summum Jus, Summa Injuria. Extreme right is ex- 
treme wrong. Between just laws and righteous men no 
antipathy. Good laws bind evil people. 

The greatest bait to offend is the hope of impunity. 



260 The Settlement of Germantown. 

Copy of the Charter. 

I William Penn, Proprietor of the Province of Pennsil- 
vania in America under the Imperial Crowne of great 
Britaine by vertue of Letters Patent, under the great Seale 
of England doe grant unto Francis Daniel Pastorius Civil- 
ian, Jacob Tellner, merchant, Dirk Isaacs Opte Graef 
Linnenmaker, Herman Isaacs opte Graef, Tennis Coen- 
derts, Abraham Isaacs opte Graef, Jacob Isaacs, Johannes 
Cassels, Heyvart Papen, Herman Bon, Dirck van Kolck, 
all of Germantown, yeomen, that they shall bee one Body 
Politique and Corporate in deed and in name, by the name 
of the Bailiffe, Burgesses and Comonalty of Germantown 
in the County of Philadelphia, in the Province of Pennsil- 
vania, and them by that Name one Body Politique and Cor- 
porate in deed and in name for ever I doe for mee, my 
heirs and Successors create, make and declaire by these 
presents. And that they and their Successors by the name 
of the Bailiffe, Burgesses and Comonalty of Germantown 
bee and at all times hereafter shall bee persons able and 
capable in Law with a joynd Stocke to trade, and with the 
same or any part thereoff to have, take, purchase, possesse 
and enjoy mannors, messuages, lands, tenements, and 
Rents of the yearly value of fifteen hundred pounds p. Ann. 
liberties, Priviledges, jurisdictions, franchises and heredi- 
taments of what kinde, Nature or Qualitie to them and 
their Successors, and assigns ; and also to give, grant, de- 
mise, aliene, assigne and dispose of the same. And that 
they and their Successors, by the name of the Bailiffe, 
Burgesses and Comonalty of Germantown shall and may 
bee persons able and capable in Law to plead and bee im- 
pleaded, answer and bee answered, defend and bee de- 
fended in whatsoever Courts and places, and before what- 



The Charter. 261 

soever Judges and Justices, Officers and Ministers of mee, 
my heirs and Successors in all and Singular Pleas, actions, 
Suits, Causes, Quarrels and demands whatsoever, and of 
what kinde, Nature or Sort soever. And that it shall and 
may bee lawfull to and for the said Corporation and their 
Successors to have and use a Common Seale for any Busi- 
ness of or concerning the said Corporation and the same 
from time to time at their will to change or alter. And for 
the better government of the said Corporation I doe further 
grant to the said Corporation that there shall bee from 
henceforth one of the said Corporation to bee elected and 
to bee Bailiffe of the said Corporation, and four other of 
the said Corporation to bee elected and to bee chosen Bur- 
gesses of the said Corporation, and that there shall bee from 
henceforth six persons members of the said Corpor' elected 
and bee Committeemen of the said Corporation, which said 
Bailiffe, Burgesses and Committeemen shall bee called the 
Generall Court of the Corporation of Germantown. And 
that they or any three or more of them, whereof the Bailiffe 
with two, or in his absence any three of the Burgesses, to 
bee always Some, shall bee and are hereby authorized, 
according to such rules, orders and directions as shall from 
time to time bee made and given unto them by the Generall 
Court of the said Corporation (and for want of such 
rules orders and directions (when desired) as they them- 
selves shall thinke meete) shall manege, govern and direct 
all the affaires and business of the said Corporation and 
all their Servants and Ministers whatsoever and generally 
to act and doe in all other matters and things whatsoever 
so as they shall judge necessary and expedient for the well 
governing and Government of the said Corporation, and 
the Improvement of their Lands, tenements and other estate, 
joynt Stock and trade ; and to doe enjoy, performe and 



262 The Settlement of Germantown. 

execute all the powers, authorities, priviledges, acts and 
things in like manner to all Intents and purposes as if the 
same ware done at and by a Generall Court of the said 
Corporation. 

And I doe by these presents assigne, nominate, declare 
and make the said Francis Daniell Pastorius of Germantown 
Civilian to bee the first and present Bailiff e, and the afore- 
said Jacob Tellner, Dirck Isaacs opte Graef Herman 
Isaacs opte Graef and Tennis Coenderts to bee the first 
present Burgesses, and the aforesaid Abraham Isaacs opte 
Graef, Jacob Isaacs, Johannes Cassels, Heyvart Papen, 
Herman Bon and Dirck van Kolck the first and present 
Committeemen of the said Corporation ; the said Bailiffe 
& Burgesses & Committeemen to continue in their respec- 
tive offices and places untill the first day of December next, 
ensuing the date hereof, and from thence untill there bee a 
new choyse of other Persons duely to succeed them, ac- 
cording as it is hereinafter directed ; unless they or any of 
them shall happen to dye or bee removed by order to bee 
made by a Generall Court of the said Corporation before 
the expiration of that time ; and in case any of them shall 
happen to dye or bee removed before the said first day of 
December, it shall and may bee lawfull to and for the per- 
sons assembled at any Generall Court of the said Corpor- 
ation whereoff the Bailiffe if present with two, or in his ab- 
sence three of the Burgesses to bee Some to make choyse of 
any other fit person beeing a member of the said Corpora- 
tion in the place of such person so deceased or removed, 
which person so to bee chosen shall continue in the said 
Place and office during the Residue of the said time. And 
I doe further for mee, my heirs and Successors give and 
grant to the said Bailiffe, Burgesses and Committeemen of 
Germantown and their Successors, that it shall and may 



The Charter. 263 

bee lawfull to and for the said Bailiffe, Burgesses and 
Committeemen at and upon the said first day of December 
in every year successively for ever hereafter (unless the 
said first day of December happen to fall on the first day 
of the weeke, and then at and upon the next day follow- 
ing) — to assemble and meet together in some convenient 
place to bee appointed by the Bailiffe, or in his absence by 
any three of the Burgesses of the said Corporation for the 
time being, which assembly and meeting of the said Cor- 
poration at such time and place as aforesaid shall bee and 
shall bee called a Generall Court of the Corporation of 
Germantown, and that they being so assembled, it shall 
and may bee lawfull to and for the major part of them 
which shall bee then present, not being less than seaven in 
number, whereof the Bailiffe and two of the Burgesses, or 
in absence of the Bailiffe three of the Burgesses for the 
being to bee some, to elect and nominate one Bailiffe, four 
Burgesses and Six Committeemen for the purposes afore- 
said, and also such other officers as they shall think neces- 
sary for the more due Government of the said Corporation 
out of the members of the said Corporation, which are to 
continue in their respective offices and places for the ensu- 
ing year, unless within that time they shall happen to dye 
or bee removed for some reasonable Cause as aforesaid, 
and upon the death or Removall of the Bailiffe, any Bur- 
gesse, or any of the six Committeemen, or any other officer 
at any time within the year, and before the said first day 
of December, it shall and may bee lawfull to and for the 
generality of them the said Bailiffe, Burgesses and Com- 
mitteemen for the time being, or the major part of them 
present at any Generall Court of the same Corporation to 
bee for that purpose assembled, whereof the Bailiffe and 
two of the Burgesses, or in the absence of the Bailiffe three 



264 The Settlement of Germantozvn. 

of the Burgesses for the time being, to bee always some, to 
elect and nominate a Bailiffe, Burgess or Burgesses, Com- 
mitteeman or Committeemen as there shall bee occasion in 
the place and room of such person or persons respectively 
as shall so happen to dye or bee removed. 

And likewise that it shall and may bee lawfull to and for 
the Bailiffe and two of the Burgesses, or in the absence of 
the Bailiffe three of the Burgesses of the said Corporation, 
for the time being from time to time so often as they shall 
find cause, to sumon a generall Court of the said Cor- 
poration of Germantown, and that no assembly or meeting 
of the said Corporation shall bee deemed and accounted a 
generall Court of the said Corporation unless the Bailiffe 
and two of the Burgesses, or in absence of the Bailiffe, 
three of the Burgesses and four of the Committeemen at 
least bee present. 

And I doe for mee my heirs and Successors give and 
grant unto the said Corporation of Germantown and their 
Successors full and free liberty, power and authority from 
time to time at any of their generall Courts to admitt such 
and so many persons into their Corporation and Society, 
and to increase, contract or divide their joynt Stoke, or any 
part thereof, when so often and in such proportions and 
manner as they or the greatest part of them then present 
(whereof the Bailiffe and two of the Burgesses or in his 
absence three of the Burgesses for the time being to bee 
always some) shall think fitt. And also that the said 
Bailiffe, Burgesses and Committeemen for the time being 
from time to time at their said generall Courts shall have 
power to make, and they may make, ordaine, constitute 
and establish such and so many good and reasonable Laws, 
Ordinances and Constitutions as to the greatest part of them 
at such generall Court and Courts assembled, whereof the 



The Charier. 265 

Bailiffe and two of the Burgesses, or in absence of the 
Bailiffe three of the Burgesses for the time being, to bee 
allways some, shall seem necessary and convenient for the 
good Government of the said Corporation and their affairs ; 
and the same Laws, Orders Ordinances and Constitutions 
so made to bee put in use and execution accordingly, and 
at their pleasur to revoke, alter and make anew, as Occa- 
sion shall require. And also to impose and set such mulcts 
and amerciaments upon the breakers of such Laws and 
Ordinances as to them or the greater part of them so as- 
sembled (whereof the Bailiffe and two of the Burgesses, 
or in absence of the Bailiffe three of the Burgesses to 
bee always some) in their discretions shall bee thought 
reasonable ; which said Laws and Ordinances shall bee 
put in execution by such officers of the said Corporation, 
for the time being, as shall bee by the said Court appointed 
for that purpose, or in default of such appointment by the 
Bailiffe and two of the Burgesses, or in absence of the 
Bailiffe by three of the Burgesses for the time beeing to 
bee chosen ; and the said mulcts and amerciaments so 
imposed and set upon the breakers of the same Laws and 
Ordinances as aforesaid shall from time to time bee 
levied and receaved by such the officers and servants of 
the said Corporation (in that behalf to bee appointed in 
manner as aforesaid) to and for the use of the said Cor- 
poration and their Successors by distress or otherwise in 
such manner as the said generall Court shall direct and 
appoint not contrary to Law, without the Impediment of 
mee, my heirs and successors, or of any the officers and 
ministers of mee, my heirs and Successors, and without any 
account to bee made, rendred or given to mee, my heirs 
and Successors for the same or any part thereof ; or else 
that the said mulcts and amerciaments or any part thereof 



266 The Settlement of Germantozvn. 

may upon the offenders submission or Conformity bee re- 
mitted, pardoned or released by the said generall Court of 
the said Corporation at their will and pleasur. And that 
the Bailiffe and two eldest Burgesses for the time being 
shall bee Justices of the Peace, and shall have full power 
and authority to act as Justices of the Peace within the 
said Corporation and to doe all act and acts, thing and 
things whatsoever, which any other Justice or Justices of 
the Peace can or may doe within my said Province. And 
further, I doe hereby grant to the said Bailiffe, Burgesses 
and Comonalty of Germantown, that they and their Suc- 
cessors shall and may have, hold and keep before the 
Bailiffe and three of the eldest Burgesses of the said Cor- 
poration and the Recorder for the time being of the said 
Corporation one Court of Record to bee held every six 
weeks in the year yearly, for such time as they shall think 
fitt for the hearing or determining of all Civil causes, 
matters and things whatsoever (arising or happening be- 
twixt the Inhabitants of the said Corporation) according to 
the Laws of the said Province and of the Kingdome of 
England, reserving the liberty of Appeall according to the 
same. And also to have, hold and keep one publick 
market every sixth day in the week in such convenient 
place and manner as the Provinciall Charter doeth direct. 
And further to doe and act any other matter or thing what- 
soever for the good government of the said Corporation 
and the members thereof, and for the maneging and order- 
ing of the estate, Stoke and affairs of the said Corporation 
as they shall at any time or times thinke or judge expedi- 
ent or necessary, and as any other Corporation within my 
said Province shall may or can doe by Law not being in- 
consistent to the Laws of England or of my said Province. 
Hereby giving and granting that this my present Charter 



THE SETTLEMENT OF GERHANTOWN. 





















{fi A rU f y ,/*/,- 



*■ tin 






TITLE OF THE GERHANTOWIN LAVS AND ORDIIS 
IN THE HAND OF FRANCIS DANIEL FASTORIUS. 



The Laws. 267 

or Grant shall in all Courts of Law and Equity bee con- 
strued and taken most favorably and beneficially for the 
Grantees and the said Corporation. Given under my 
hand and the lesser Seale of the said Province at London 
this twelfth day of the month called August in the vear of 
our Lord 1689. 

Wm. Penn. 

Upon the back of the charter Wm. Penn wrote with his 
own hand 12th of 6 mo. Aug. 89. "Lett this pass the 
great Seale 

" Wm. Penn. 

" To Tho. Loyd keeper thereof in Pennsilvania." 

Past under the great Seale of the Province of Pennsil- 
vania on the thirtieth day of the third month 1691. 
Recorded the thirtieth day of the third month 1691. 

per Da. Lloyd, Deputy. 140 

Laws, Ordinances and Statutes of the Community 

at Germantown, Made and Ratified from 

Time to Time in the General 

Court at that Place. 

It is evident, as well from the valuable testimony of 
Holy Scripture, as from the firm foundation of reason, and 
daily experience, that the conditions, established by God 
above, bring to the evil doer punishment and terror, not 
less praise and reward to the pious. 

Moreover it is everywhere recognized that magistrates 
without eternal laws and reasonable civil ordinances (as 
long as human weakness and frailty last) often do not 
clearly see their duty in the punishment of crime, and the 



140 The Charter is here printed as to language, orthography and punctua- 
tion as written by Pastorius. 



268 The Settlement of Germantovjn. 

reward of good works, but may easily become tyrannical 
and arbitrary. Accordingly now William Penn, Pro- 
prietor and Governor of Pennsilvania, with power held 
from the King in England, to the Bailiffe and Burgesses 
of the community at Germantown, by means of a special 
charter or grant of franchise of the date 6 mo. 12th 1689 
among other things, has graciously permitted and decreed 
that they may from time to time in their General Court 
make and establish as many good and reasonable laws, or- 
dinances and statutes as for the salutary government of 
this community and its affairs may be necessary and ad- 
vantageous, and may accordingly bring such into effect 
and perfect them, and also may, when changing circum- 
stances make it necessary, alter their laws, or withdraw 
them, and establish new ones. 

Wherefore, we, the present first Bailiff and Burgesses 
of the place, do hereby in friendly manner inform each 
and every citizen, inhabitant and tenant under German- 
town jurisdiction that, we, according to the demand of our 
State, still young, and established only a few years ago, 
and of its well being, by virtue of the powers given to us 
in the above mentioned charter, and by the authority of 
the King, and in the name of William Penn, have in sev- 
eral General Courts (held the 6th, 15th, and 22nd of the 
6th month) drawn up the following laws and ordinances, 
and also unanimously determined that they shall be pub- 
lished and made known to the community by public read- 
ing, in order that all may live manfully according to them 
from this time forth and no one may plead ignorance as an 
excuse for his disobedience. 

And as we now earnestly wish and desire that, towards 
those who henceforth shall serve in the Magistrate's office 
here, all citizens and subjects under our jurisdiction may, 



The Laws. 



269 



with just zeal and conscientious obedience, submit to and 
support such laws and statutes, so long as they are not 
changed or withdrawn ; so we must also warn earnestly, 
ex officio, the offenders and obstinate delinquents, and also 
address them separately in the words of the Holy Apostle : 
"If thou doest that which is evil, be afraid, for he (the 
ruler) beareth not the sword in vain, for he is the minister 
of God, a revenger to execute wrath upon him that doeth 
evil." 

Most especially and before all else all the citizens in- 
habitants and under tenants under Germantown jurisdiction 
or those who are settled and live here, recognizing with 
thankful hearts the special providence of the Almighty, as 
well as the gracious kindness of our King and Governor, (by 
virtue of which every one may without the least constraint 
or oppression, serve God unrestrainedly according to the 
best of his knowledge and conscience, and may worship him 
more freely than is possible in most other lands at this time) 
shall keep themselves from all sin and evil, by which the 
great God of Heaven and earth is displeased and angered, 
such as these : cursing and swearing by his Holy name, 
blasphemy against his divine majesty, unchaste babbling 
talk, which is not befitting for Christians, the dice, cards 
and other plays, lying, false witness, slander, libelling, in- 
surrection, fighting, duelling, murder, incendiarism, re- 
viling, scolding, especially against parents, magistrates, 
masters and women, stealing, robbery, fornication, adul- 
tery, blood or Sodomitical crime, drunkenness, forgery 
of a manuscript, or seal, debasement of coin, or false rep- 
resentation of boundary lines, etc., against which and other 
crimes special provision has already been made in the laws 
of this land by fines and corporal punishment ; whence as 
well in this case as in regard to the other ordinances con- 



270 The Settlement of Germantown. 

tained therein, each and every one is to be informed. And 
by no means shall any one be pardoned by the excuse that 
he does not understand the English language and so did 
not know of such a law, nor by any other kind of pretext 
or excuse. 

Further, the four immediately following fundamental 
articles, which the founders of this township of German- 
town at first unanimously ratified for the greater and more 
rapid growth of this place shall at all times be inviolably 
kept, namely : 

1. That as well in Germantown as in the villages there- 
unto belonging, all the properties shall be taken up in reg- 
ular order and succession, without any exception, both 
upon the east and west, from beginning to end. But in 
case both sides are alike, then he who wishes to take up a 
property must draw lots with the others who have received 
land in the village, unless they freely grant and offer him 
the choice. 

2. That when a number of them wish to settle at the 
same time and to take up land together, they shall draw 
lots, unless it be that they of themselves give the choice to 
one or more among them. 

3. That since Germantown is laid out like a town and 
every whole property contains four acres, every half prop- 
erty two acres, no inhabitant here shall be entitled to build 
his dwelling except upon the aforesaid four or two acres 
respectively, without obtaining first the consent of the com- 
munity and then that of the General Court. Vid. Num. 52. 

4. That, when upon any one's private property, water 
shall be found suitable for the erection of mills of any 
kind, the community shall have full right to build such 
mills, but that for such they must be willing to satisfy the 
owner of the land according to the decision of impartial 



The Lazvs. 



271 



persons. But in case the owner himself should build a 
mill within a year on such a place, it shall not be taken 
from him. 

Finally the other laws and statutes following shall be 
valid and remain until the magistrates of this town in the 
General Court, after finding out further good, shall either 
change these or abolish and annul them altogether. 
Namely : 

5. No one shall build a dwelling on the side land which 
he possesses outside of Germantown for the completion of 
his fifty or twenty-five acres or establish a household there, 
as long as he has no actual family in Germantown, under 
fine of twenty-five pounds. 

6. Each resident shall keep the long street through the 
town or village, in front of his property, cleaned and free 
from all brush (knuysten) as well as from weeds and other 
trash, at all times. Or if in eight days after the street over- 
seer orders him, he has not obeyed, two shillings shall be 
imposed. 

7. Of the cross streets only two at first, namely the 
Schuylkill and Mill Street, shall be opened and fenced off, 
and both shall be cleared by compulsory labor, from this 
present date on to the end of next October. The other 
four, any one who is willing to clear and sow them, may 
hold and use for six years after he has taken possession, 
provided he leaves ten feet for the public highway. 

8. The trees upon the cross and side streets as far as 
the boundary lines, are for the community, and no one 
may cut down any of them for private use, under penalty 
of five pounds fine. 

9. The outer cross streets, as long as no division fences 
are made, shall be fenced and kept in good condition by 
all those whose land extends through them, each one in 



272 The Settlement of German town. 

proportion to the amount of his property — also under pen- 
alty of five pounds. 

10. The posts of the said cross and side fences may 
stand a foot and a half into the street until such time as 
each lot in that quarter shall be separately fenced off, but 
such one and one half foot shall not thereby become the 
property of the corner lot, but shall also belong to the 
community for the street. 

11. If any one wants to have a division fence made, he 
shall do it at his own expense, and not demand that his 
next neighbor pay his share in it, but in case the latter uses 
such a fence also when completed, he shall make good half 
of what he enjoys to him who made it. 

12. Each and all who wish to keep cattle of any kind, 
shall fence in before the end of the next month, Septem- 
ber, a special enclosure or yard, so that the cattle cannot 
run into the common fields or through the house door or 
other doors. Whoever fails to do this must make good all 
damage thus occasioned, and also pay three shillings fine. 

Vide infra, Num. 12. 

13. All fences shall be at least five feet high, and 
strictly, on the lowest foot and a half from the ground 
there shall be no spaces more than four inches wide ; from 
there to the height of four feet no spaces more than six 
inches wide, and the top part shall be well guarded with 
strong rails. Also it shall be permitted to no one outside 
on the street to lay trees and such things against the rail 
fence, over which young pigs and other animals could the 
more easily climb up and get over. Whenever neglect of 
this on the part of any one shall be made known by the 
fence inspectors, he shall fix it within twenty four hours, 
or upon failure shall be fined six shillings. 

Vide infra, Num. 13. 



Cattle and Pigs. 273 

14. If the fences are completed after the approved 
fashion, and yet horses oxen or cows jump over them, 
those who suffer damage from it are entitled to demand 
satisfaction from the owner of the animals, and further, 
if he refuses, to bring it before the sheriff. S.Z. But 
if a young pig or a hog come into fenced off property, 
and any one on the place makes complaint, and the owner 
cannot prove that it came in through a gate or a gap which 
was already in the fence, he shall be fined five shillings for 
each pig, each time it goes on to the property, of which 
three shillings belong and must be paid to the community, 
the other two to him who has suffered thereby. 

Vide infra, Num. 14. 

15. On the other hand, no one is permitted to kill an- 
other's pig, which so runs on to his place, but in case he 
does, he must pay immediately to the owner the full price 
which impartial persons consider it to have been worth. 

15 et post 

Vide infra, Nu. 48 et. post 51. 

16. When any one is proven to have accidentally let any 
kind of cattle into fenced off land, he is bound to make 
good all damage that they may have done or caused, and 
besides is to be fined one shilling. 

17. But whoever voluntarily and purposely lets any cattle 
through a gate or otherwise into a field shall be fined ten 
shillings. 

18. Germantown, and the three village communities 
therein included, (Krisheim, Somerhausen and Crefelt) 
shall each separately make their paths, roads and bridges, 
and keep them continually in good repair. 

Vide infra, Num. 19. 

18. The common service must be done equally by all 



274 The Settlement of Germantoivn. 

who have families. But whoever has one or more prop- 
erties in addition at any time, must do extra service for 
each one, when his turn comes. 

19. The members of the General Court, together with 
the town clerk and messengers, in consideration of the 
length of time which they spend in consultation and the 
arrangement of the common business and affairs, shall, so 
long as they are performing such duties, be excused and 
free from the common compulsory labor. 

N. B. This law, after repeated opposition and final soli- 
citation of the community, has been by the General Court 
repealed and abolished. 

20. Every one must plant his trees at least one rod from 
the furrow of the neighboring property, or else, on com- 
plaint being made, be compelled to take them out again. 

21. All must, as far as their neighbors clear and plow 
the land, cut down the trees within four rods on their own 
ground, (even the community upon the cross and side streets 
also) or at least make them so that they may not shade the 
neighbouring cultivated land. Whoever fails to do this in 
eight days after his neighbor has sent him notice, shall pay 
six shillings fine. 

Vide Num. 56. 

22. It is freely permitted to any one living under this 
jurisdiction, in case of pressing need, to travel over his 
fellow citizens' cultivated land. Whoever seeks to hinder 
or hold him back shall be fined six shillings. 

23. The dogs are to be kept chained from the middle of 
the third month (May) until the end of the harvest, or else 
kept in so that they can do no damage, otherwise the 
owners of the dog must make entirely good all damage, 
and besides pay a fine of six shillings. 

Vide Num. 55. 



Chickens — Cattle — Burning Brush. 275 

24. Chickens shall be free to run about to this extent, 
that people may frighten them away, but may not shoot 
them or kill them by a blow, or by throwing anything at 
them. But whoever, contrary to this, kills anothers' hen, 
must not only pay the owners for the same, but also for 
each so killed hen, must pay one shilling fine. S. 2 : — 
Ducks however it is hereby strictly prohibited to keep, to- 
gether with other injurious things. This on payment of 
the damage done, and fine of six pence for any one that 
has done any damage. 

25. Oxen and cows which are over three years old, and 
run with the others in the brush, must have the tips of 
their horns cut off, so that they may not injure the others 
by hooking them. Whoever neglects this until the end of 
next September, must, together with the damage that his 
cattle in such condition have done, pay eleven shillings for 
each one whose horns are not cut. 

26. Whatever resident of our township of Germantown 
shall, within the same, shoot or otherwise kill a wolf, and 
bring its head to one of the justices, shall receive six shill- 
ings for every one. 

27. At the time when the laws of this land permit the 
brush to be burned, all inhabitants in Germantown, as well 
as in the village communities thereunto belonging, shall 
be required to announce to the neighbors of their quarters 
twenty four hours beforehand, from house to house, on what 
day and at what time of day, they wish to burn on their 
places, but without this neighborly warning they may not 
make a fire. Otherwise they must make good any dam- 
age caused by such burning, out of the proper time. Fur- 
thermore, all who own, or inhabit side lands, shall yearly 
put such under fire. 

N. B. This law was thus amended 1st mo. 17, 1696. 



276 The Settlement of Germantown. 

28. If any one finds anything, he shall, through the town 
clerk, have a notice of the same publicly made (and he 
must have three pence for his trouble) ; but if this is not 
done the finder shall be severely punished. 

29. Poor and old people, under our jurisdiction, who 
cannot longer support themselves by the labor of their 
hands, and indigent widows and orphans may make them^ 
selves known to the General Court, by which they shall be 
helped as far as possible. 

30. Bills of sale and lease, as well as all contracts re- 
lating to land and other immovable property (except for 
rent for a year or less), which are made within the juris- 
diction of Germantown, shall not be valid until they have 
been acknowledged and delivered in the open Court of 
record. 

Vide infra, Num. 31. 

N. B. The foregoing thirty laws and ordinances were 
read to the community and published, 6th mo. (Au- 
gust) 28, 1691. 

32. Each and every one who shall hereafter wish to 
buy or rent land in the township of Germantown, or to set- 
tle within it, shall first procure from the General Court of 
his fellow citizens the right or privilege of living here, and 
without such permission no one shall participate in our 
privileges. 

33. In order the better to avoid all possibility of fire, 
every one is hereby strictly forbidden to carry fire through 
the streets, or even from his next door neighbor's house to his 
own, unless it is in a covered pot or kettle. If any one comes 
to get fire without such pot or kettle he must be refused. 
If he, however, does this nevertheless, and damage is 
thereby incurred, the magistrates of this place may hold 
him responsible for all damage, but if no harm comes from 



Fires. 277 

it, and yet complaint is made, the offender shall be fined 
six shillings. 

34. Similarly, no one may within Germantown or the 
village communities thereunto belonging, carry upon the 
open streets, or in stables or barns, a lighted candle, short 
or long, except in a lantern ; and also upon said streets and 
in stables and barns, no one may smoke tobacco, on pain 
of repairing all damage, and fine of six shillings, if no 
harm be done and yet he be accused. 

35. Also no one, in said Germantown jurisdiction, shall 
dry flax, or make it ready for breaking, in the house over a 
fire, or in a hole in which there is a fire, which is not re- 
moved at least five rods from any kind of building. Also 
no one is permitted to break or swing flax at the lamp or 
candle. All under the same conditions and fine as are 
published in both preceding laws. 

Vide infra, num. 36. 

35. At all times there shall be within Germantown for 
every sixth lot, a fire hook twenty five feet long, and also a 
ladder twenty five feet high, namely, in all, four fire hooks 
and four ladders, and no one shall use these except in case 
of fire under penalty of six shillings fine. 

36. Two of the six members of the council shall alter- 
nately every two months inspect the chimneys and hearths* 
and when they find anything wrong, they must notify the 
owner of the house of the time within which he must fix 
it ; and if the latter fails to do this, he must be fined six 

shillings. 

Vide num. 36. 

37. No one shall take down another's fence or hedge to 
pass through, until he has obtained permission from the 
owner of the fence, nor take away any rails from another's 



278 The Settlement of Germaniown. 

fence ; or, in case such a complaint is made, the offence 
shall be punishable according to the decision of the magis- 
trates then serving. 

38. Since when blocks or other wood are laid against a 
fence, the fence is not only damaged, but also at time of 
burning brush, is so much harder to save, no one shall lay 
wood of any kind against another's fence on pain of severe 
penalty, if accusation is made. 

39. When any one cuts down a tree and it falls against 
the fence, or if a dead tree of itself strike it, he who cut it 
down, or to whom the tree belongs, shall within twenty four 
hours take it away from the fence, and set this up as it was 
before, or pay whatever penalty the authorities shall pre- 
scribe, if accusation is brought against him. 

N. B. Of the proceeding nine laws, num. 32 anno 1691, 
Novemb. 20th, numbers 33, 34, 35, 36, 37, 38 and 39 on 
December 15th were made in full General Court, and the 
same published by reading them to the community. ' 

40. Those deeds and contracts which, according to the 
contents of the 30th law, must be acknowledged and de- 
livered in open Court of Record shall be first perfectly 
valid when they have been sealed by the Bailiff with the 
common town seal, and recorded by the Court clerk ; for 
no document or contract of any kind shall or may be written 
of record, which has not thus been sealed. And there 
shall be paid for the sealing not more than six pence and 
for the recording one shilling. 

Decretum in Senatu 11 mo. 2, 1691. Promulgated to 
the community 4 mo. 14, 1692. 

Vide infra, num. 3. 

N. B. Anno 1692/3 20th of 1st mo. (March) were all 
the preceding laws except Num. 19 again read aloud to 
the community by order of the General Court. 



*x 





.„: J J 



4.1 



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Fences — Boundaries. 279 

40. The present inhabitants of the village of Krisheim 
shall according to their undertaking intention and purpose, 
like those in Germantown, fence their fields in together, 
but if these or some of them shall prefer to make partition 
fences, each neighbor shall prepare to furnish half of this 
fence, or else be required to pay for it. 

This law was made 1 mo. 17th, 1696. 

41. The 19th day of first month, March, shall be named 
for yearly reading aloud the laws and ordinances made 
from time to time by the General Court here, to the com- 
munity, the members having been previously notified to 
come together on this same day. 

This was also made 1st mo. 17, 1696. 

42. On the 20th of said first month every second year, all 
of the inhabitants of the township of Germantown, especially 
the young people, shall go around the lines of the common 
enclosure, and where it is necessary, renew the marks and 
signs thereof. (Also made 1st mo. 17, 1696.) 

The following 43 law is still valid : 

43. Each and all who are chosen by the General Court, 
for any kind of commission or service, shall be compelled 
to enter on such duties and fulfill them faithfully under 
penalty of three pounds fine. But the person so chosen 
may state truthfully with yea or no, if he for conscience 
sake cannot take upon himself such duties, or if he is under 
sixteen or over sixty years old, or if the preceding year he 
held any commission in the general or open court. 

N. B. This law was never repealed and should not be 
crossed out. Also was made 1st mo. 17, 1696. 

44. All racing, as well as all other unnecessary fast 
driving in the streets of Germantown, is hereby strictly 
prohibited, and whoever disobeys, and thereby causes 
damage, shall fully repair it, and also pay ten shill. fine. 



28o 



The Settlement of Germantown. 




Extract from the book of laws. 



Branding Horses — Pigs. 



281 



Of this fine, one shilling shall be demanded, even though 
no actual loss is incurred by the racing, in case accusation 
is made. Also on istmo. 17, 1697. 

45. Furthermore, all shooting is likewise prohibited to 
old and young on the first day of the week, otherwise 
called Sunday, under penalty of twenty shillings fine. 

Also 1st mo. 17, 1696. Adde infra, num. 46. 

47. In order that the benefit of our best and most com- 
plete brand of the clover leaf registered in Philadelphia, 
maybe preserved strictly for the community, all inhabitants 
of Germantown who sell their own horses, marked with 
said clover leaf, or exchange them or otherwise part with 
them to any one who does not belong to our Corporation, 
shall before parting with the horse, burn upon him in ad- 
dition to such clover leaf, with the stamp prepared for the 
purpose, the letter G, under penalty of ten shillings fine. 
Also all who go away from this jurisdiction on their horses, 
shall be compelled to do so with their clover leaf so 
marked, under penalty of the now imposed fine of ten 
shillings for every animal that is not so branded with the 
letter G. 

This law was made Decern. 18, 1696, by the General 
Court then assembled, and forthwith published by public 
reading. 

48. No citizen or inhabitant of Germantown after four 
weeks from the date here set down, shall let any kind of 
swine or young pigs run in either the fields or streets under 
penalty of losing all such swine or young pigs that run loose 
which, after said four weeks, shall by certain persons 
thereunto appointed, be put up for sale, from which one- 
fourth part shall go to him who has taken them up, one- 
fourth to the officer who sells them the next day after the 
bill of sale has been up, and the other half to the com- 



282 The Settlement of Germantown. 

munity. Yet it is expressly directed that in case a hog or 
young pig shall against the owner's will, break out or run 
over a field or street, they shall reckon from the first 
twenty-four hours after the breaking out, before the above 
order goes into effect. Also if any swine or young pigs, 
which belong to some one living outside of Germantown, 
shall be found running loose upon said fields or streets, 
the owner of the same shall pay for every one, as often as 
it is caught, ten pence to persons appointed to receive it. 
In the meantime, before the herein mentioned four weeks 
are passed, every inhabitant shall have liberty to catch 
every hog or young pig which comes into his fields, and 
then the owner of the same is bound to pay to him who 
has them, two shillings each, or, if he refuse, the finder 
may bring them to the officer and he may put them up for 
sale according to a previously posted bill, and may keep 
the third part of the ransom money for his trouble. 

This law was made 5th mo. 20, 1697, in the General 
Court and publicly put up, and the preceding 15th law re- 
pealed and withdrawn. 

Vide num. 51. 

49. It is ordered by the General Court that no one here 
in Germantown shall keep an inn without license or per- 
mission of the Court, and shall give bond in twenty-five 
pounds. So as to keep good order in his house no one 
shall entertain transient guests except only the inn-keeper. 

In order to avoid drunkenness, no inhabitant or person 
within the jurisdiction of Germantown shall be permitted 
to sell rum or other strong drink to any Indians, or he shall 
be punished according to the circumstances as the Court 
shall find good. 

Vide seq., num. 50. 

50. On the 9th of 6th mo. 1701, the preceding 49th law 



Swine. 283 

was abolished, and the 46th was again established by the 
General Court with this proviso : That no inn-keepers on 
the first day called Sunday in God's service, shall hold 
gatherings of guests, and besides, throughout the whole 
week, no one except travellers shall be found here in an 
inn drinking later than nine o'clock at night, on pain of 
whatever penalty the court of record shall inflict. 

51. On Sept. 17, 1701, the 48th law was repealed, and 
the following two made by the General Court and pub- 
lished with those following : All swine, except suckling 
pigs, which are found after the 21st day of this month in 
the fields of Germantown, without a yoke of two feet long, 
the officer of the corporation, or in his absence, or if he re- 
fuse, some citizen with two of his neighbors as witnesses, 
is hereby entitled to catch or kill, and the half of it shall 
go to the officer, or in such case as mentioned above, the 
citizen who in such case has caught or killed the chased 
pig, for his trouble, and the other half shall fall to the 
community. For damages, up to the 22nd day of this 
month, for swine which are now running in said fields, the 
owner of the land upon which the swine are caught or 
killed, shall be recompensed' according to the decision of 

disinterested persons. 

Vide num. 55. 

51. So also was the following ordered : All citizens here 
in Germantown shall have full right to catch and bring to 
the officer all horses, cows, calves, and pigs found running 
loose upon their enclosed fields, and the officer shall pay 
them one shilling for each head, and shall receive beside 
from the owner of the cattle so caught two shill. together 
with all costs for trouble and fodder. But in case he catch 
them himself, he shall have only the two shill. and said costs. 
But he who has to pay the officer for his cattle, shall re- 



284 The Settlement of Germantoivn. 

ceive whatever he pays out in this way, provided his own 
fence is good and regular, from those or him whose fences 
or fence are not sufficient, besides all lost time and costs 
of judgment whatever they come to in the dispute. 

Horses which can jump the prescribed fence are to be 
kept with a strong halter around the neck or else kept in a 
stable. 

Num. 12. Each and every property, half property or 
smaller place upon which any one dwells here in German- 
town, shall have a special yard (werf) fenced in so that the 
cattle may not so easily run into the common field. And 
such yard fences shall be like the other field fences, strong 
and sufficient to keep out cattle ; also this shall be regu- 
larly examined by the fence inspector. Whoever neglects 
to make this fence or to repair it, must make good all 
damage caused thereby, and also when accusation is made 
against him, must pay three shillings fine. 

This was made in place of the above 12th law, 1 mo. 
17th, 1696. 

Num. 13. All fences shall be five feet high, and the 
highest part protected with strong rails, and otherwise so 
made and contrived as to keep the cattle out of the fields. 
Also, no one shall be permitted outside on the street, to 
leave trees and such things against the fences, by which 
little pigs and other harmful animals might the more easily 
climb up and get over. Whereupon any one on being in- 
formed of such offence by the fence inspector, shall repair 
the same within twenty four hours, or on neglect of the 
same shall be fined six shillings. 

This was also made 1 mo. 17th, 1696. 

Num. 14. If horses, oxen, cows, etc. come through or 
over a fence, and do harm, and the fence inspector of that 
quarter recognize that such fence is firm and in good con- 



Sivine — Roach. 285 

dition, the proprietor or owner of the cattle shall be in- 
debted and compelled to repair all damage. 

This was also made 1 mo. 17, 1696. 

Number 15. Any one may set a dog upon swine or 
young pigs which come upon these streets, but with strict 
care not to kill them. But if a hog comes into the fenced 
off land, every inhabitant of this quarter is free to catch it 
and show it to the owner of the hog, and then the latter 
shall be bound to pay for every hog or young pig so caught 
which is one year old six shillings, for one a half year old 
three shillings, for the good of the community. But if he will 
not pay in such manner, he who caught it shall bring it to 
the officer, who at the earliest four hours after he has 
previously published it shall publicly sell the hog, and give 
the money received for it to the rent master, but keep back 
for himself six shillings from every pound. 

This also was made 1 mo. 17, 1696. 

Vide num. 48. 

Num. 19. The road master, as often as common service 
is needed to be done, shall the day before call upon as 
many persons as he considers necessary for the present 
work, and those persons are bound to be upon hand and to 
work. Whoever does not come himself or send some capa- 
ble person in his stead, shall have to pay six shillings fine 
for each day, but if he is so sick that he cannot do his own 
work, or if he has a wife in child bed in his house, in this 
case he is not compelled to serve. The aforesaid road 
master must always keep just and accurate reckoning with 
all of those who remain in arrears, and give over the same 
annually in the last court of record in the same year. 

This was made instead of the preceding 18th on common 
service, 1 mo. 17, 1696. 

Num. 31. The foregoing deeds and contracts shall be 



286 The Settlement of Germantown. 

sealed by the Bailiff with the common town seal and then 
first copied of record, and for the sealing only six pence 
shall be paid, but for the recording one shilling. 

This was made in place of the 40th, 1 mo. 17, 1696. 

Number 36. The general court shall yearly appoint two 
men of the community who every two months shall inspect 
the chimneys and fire places, and where they find them 
imperfect they shall give a certain time to the man living 
in the house to remedy it, and if the latter neglects doing 
it, he shall be fined six shillings. 

Also made 1 mo. 17, 1696. 

Vide Num. 55. 

Num. 46. To prevent drunkenness no citizen or under- 
tenant under Germantown jurisdiction shall sell to any 
Indians rum or other strong drink, also inn keepers are 
hereby forbidden to tap more than each half day one 
quart of beer or a gill of rum for each Indian man or 
woman, on pain of whatever punishment the court shall 
find good, according to the magnitude of the offence. 

This law also was made in the General Court 1 mo. 17, 
1696. 

Num. 52. To the foregoing 3rd ordinance was added on 
the 12 mo. 26, 1 701-2 by the General Court : — And any one 
who already has his dwelling upon said four or two acres 
may not himself or have any one else build a dwelling or 
stable upon land lying back of it. 

Num. 53. On the aforesaid 26 day of 12 month 1701-2 
was substituted by the general court in the 51 ordinance, 
fifteen inches instead of two feet. 

Num. 54. On the same 26 day of 12 mo. 1701-2 the fol- 
lowing law was made : — Behind each and every property 
in Germantown the fences shall stand away forty feet from 
the line, so that the cattle may pass through. But so long 



Officers. 287 

as the neighboring property does not reach the said back 
fence, every man in Germantown is free to fence in and 
use the land up to the line. 

55. Also on the 26th day of 12 mo. 1 701-2 by the Gen- 
eral Court, the 23d law about the dogs, the 36th about the 
chimney inspector, and the last part of the 51st law about 
the swine, were repealed. 

56. On the nth of 3 mo. 1703 in the General Court, 
there was substituted in the 21st law two rods for the four 
rods. 



Those who held the town offices during the period of its 
corporate existence, so far as they have been ascertained, 
were as follows : 

1691. Bailiff: F. D. Pastorius. Burgesses: Jacob Tel- 
ner, Dirck Op den Graeff, Hermann Op den Graeff. Re- 
corder :, Jacob Isaacs van Bebber. Clerk : Paul Wulf . 
Sheriff : Andreas Souplis. Constable, Jan Lucken. 

1692. Bailiff: F. D. Pastorius. Burgesses: Reynier 
Tyson, Abraham Op den Graeff, Van Bebber. Recorder : 
Arnold Cassel. Clerk: Paul Wulf. Sheriff: David 
Scherkges. Constable : Peter Keurlis. 

1693. Bailiff: Dirck Op den Graeff. Burgesses: R. 
Tyson, J. Lucken, Peter Schumacher jun. Recorder : 
Arnold Cassel. Clerk : F. D. Pastorius. Sheriff : Jacob 
Schumacher. Constable : P. Keurlis. 

1694. Bailiff: Dirck Op den Graeff. Burgesses: R. 
Tyson, Peter Schumacher jun., Abraham Tunes. Re- 
corder: Albert Brand, later, A. Cassel. Clerk: F. D. 
Pastorius. Sheriff : Jan Lucken. Constable : P. Keurlis. 

1695. Bailiff: A. Cassel. Burgesses: Arent Klincken, 
Jan Doeden, Peter Schumacher jun. Recorder: Heivert 
Papen. Clerk : F. D. Pastorius. Sheriff : Jan Lucken, 



288 The Settlement of Germantown. 

after May 7 Isaac Schumacher. Constable : Jan Silans 
and Johann Kuster. 

1696. Bailiff : F. D. Pastorius. Burgesses : Peter 
Schumacher jun., Reynier Tyson, Lenart Arets. Recorder: 
Thones Kunders. Clerk: Anton Loof. Sheriff: Isaac 
Schumacher. Constable : Andreas Kramer und Joh. 
Kuster. 

1 701. Bailiff: Daniel Falckner. Burgesses: Cornells 
Sivert, Justus Falckner, Thones Kunders, Recorder : 
Johannes Jawert. Clerk : F. D. Pastorius. Sheriff : Jonas 
Potts. 

1702. Bailiff : Arent Klincken. Burgesses : Paul Wulff, 
Peter Schumacher, Wilh. Strepers. Recorder: Joh. Con- 
rad Cotweis. Clerk : F. D. Pastorius. Sheriff : Jonas 
Potts. 

1703. Bailiff: James Delaplaine. Burgesses: Thones 
Kunders, Daniel Falckner, J. C. Cotweis. Recorder: 
Richard van de Werff. Clerk : F. D. Pastorius. Sheriff : 
Thorn. Potts, jun. Constable : Walter Simens. 

1704. Bailiff: Arent Klincken. Burgesses: HansHein- 
rich Mehls, Peter Schumacher, jun., Anton Gerkes. Re- 
corder : Simon Andrews. Clerk : F. D. Pastorius. Con- 
stable, Wilhelm de Wees. 

1706. Bailiff: James Delaplaine. Burgesses: Thones 
Kunders, Lenart Arets, Isaac Schumacher. Recorder : 
Caspar Hood. Clerk : F. D. Pastorius. Sheriff : Wil- 
helm de Wees. Constables : Cornelius de Wees, Simon 
Andrews und Joh. Kuster. 

1707. Bailiff: Thomas Rutter. Burgesses: Joh. Kus- 
ter, Wilh. Strepers, Peter Schumacher. Recorder: Cas- 
par Hood. Clerk: F. D. Pastorius. Sheriff: Jonas 
Potts. 141 



141 Seidensticker. 



/!&■' 





CHAPTER XIII. 

The Significance of the Settlement. 

(^HERE are many fea- 
%gj) tures about the settle- 
ment of Germantown, 
which make it an event not 
only of local but of national 
and cosmopolitan impor- 
tance. Regarded from the 
point of view of the intro- 
duction into America of the 
results of European learn- 
ing and cultivation, it is 
believed that no other set- 
tlement on this side of the Atlantic, certainly neither 
Jamestown, Plymouth nor Philadelphia, had so large a 
proportion of men who had won distinction abroad in lit- 
erature and polemics. And it must be remembered that the 
intellectual thought of that age was mainly absorbed in re- 
ligious controversy. Those in the advance of theological 
inquiry upon the continent of Europe, who had begun to 
forecast the condition of things we now enjoy, and who 
were thus brought into hopeless conflict with the concen- 

289 



290 The Settlement of Germantown, 

trated forces of church and government, looked to Penn- 
sylvania, not only as a haven, but as the only place in the 
world, with the possible exception of Holland, where their 
views might have an opportunity to bear fruitage. Of 
those interested in the settlement as purchasers Schutz, 
Ueberfeld, Eleanora von Merlau, Petersen, Kemler, Zim- 
mermann and Furly, and of the actual settlers Plockhoy, 
Pastorius, Bom, Thomas Rutter, Telner, Koster, Kelpius, 
Daniel Falckner and Justus Falckner, all wrote books and 
produced literary labors some of them of magnitude and 
importance 

In Germantown were begun the weaving of linen and 
cloth, and the manufacture of paper. The great carpet 
and other woolen industries of the state and the publishing 
houses and newspapers of the country may alike look back 
to the clover leaf of this ancient burgh with its motto : 
" Vinum Linum et Textrinum," with something of the 
same feeling that inspired the crusader of the middle ages 
when he gazed upon the cross. At Germantown began 
the inflow into America of that potent race which under 
the great Hermann in the battle in the Teutoberger wald 
overthrew the power of Rome, which in the sixth century 
conquered and colonized England and now supplies her 
kings, which in the sixteenth century under the lead of 
Luther confronted the Pope, and which has done so much 
to enrich, strengthen and liberalize the state of Pennsyl- 
vania and to establish those commonwealths in the west 
where in the future will rest the control of the nation. 

But of more moment than any of these was the lesson 
taught to mankind by the settlement. The linen weavers 
of Germantown, no matter how humble may have been 
their station, or how inconspicuous may have been the 
events of their lives, were the farthest outcome of the ages, 



Calvinists and Anabaptists. 291 

and of the future they were the prophets. Set aloft as an 
example here were the men who in advance of their Eel- 
lows, had struck what has become the key-note of Ameri- 
can civilization and the hope of futurity for all the races of 
the world. When Bullinger, the learned and able ex- 
pounder of the views of the Swiss Calvinists, wrote in 
1560 his " Origin of the Anabaptists," he said in describ- 
ing their heretical beliefs : " But they hold stiffly the oppo- 
site and maintain that the government shall not interfere in 
questions of religion and belief. It appears to these Bap- 
tists to be unreasonable that any sword should be used in 
the church except the word of God, and still more unrea- 
sonable that a man should submit questions of religion or 
belief to the determination of other men, that is, to those 
who control the government." 142 He unconsciously, and by 
way of condemnation, marked the lines definitely. He 
believed that heresy was a sin against God and a crime 
against the state and as such to be punished by the law. 
The Anabaptists, on the contrary, taught that matters of 
faith were between the man and his God with which the 
government had nothing to do. The doctrines advocated 
by Bullinger, extending later into England, led to the or- 
ganization of the Puritans, and to the founding of the 
colony of Massachusetts, as a theocracy, where Quakers, 
Baptists, Antinomians and other heretics were punished 
and expelled. The doctrines of the Anabaptists carried 
through Holland to England resulted in the formation of 
the sect of Quakers and the founding of Pennsylvania, 
where all were welcome and all were permitted to cher- 
ish their own creeds. To Germantown as Mennonites 
came the Anabaptists themselves. Though in England 
even yet the church and state are united, in America the 

u2 Widertoufferen Ursprung, Zurich, 1560, p. 165. 



292 The Settlement of Germantozvn. 

contest has been ended, and the constitutions of all the 
states of the union provide for the exercise of liberty 
of conscience. When men have once persuaded them- 
selves that the Lord has drawn an impassable distinction, 
to their advantage, between them and their fellows, the step 
towards the assumption of intellectual and physical control 
over the less fortunate is easily taken. All peoples have 
found their bondsmen among the outside barbarians. It 
is not therefore surprising that when the memorial of the 
Pennsylvania Society for promoting the Abolition of Slav- 
ery, was presented to Congress in 1790, it should meet 
with the opposition of Fisher Ames and the support of 
Hiester, Muhlenberg and Wynkoop, the Pennsylvania 
German contingent then in the House. 143 

When Plockhoy in 1662 declared that no slavery should 
exist in his colony, it was only three years later than the 
decree of a Massachusetts court which directed that the 
Quakers, Daniel and Provided Southwick, should be sold 
in the Barbados, 144 and when the Op den Graeffs, Pas- 
torius and Hendricks presented their well-reasoned pro- 
test in 1688, the other American colonists, as well as 
the English and the Dutch, were busily engaged in mak- 
ing their annual profits from the trade in slaves. 

The settlement of Germantown then has a higher import 
than that new homes were founded and that a new burgh, 
destined to fame though it was, was builded on the face of 
the earth. It has a wider significance even than that here 
was the beginning of that immense immigration of Germans 
who have since flocked to these shores. Those burghers 
from the Rhine, better far than the Pilgrims who landed 
at Plymouth, better even that the Quakers who established 



143 Journal of the House, p. 62. 

Ui Hazard's Historical Collections, Vol. II., p. 563. 



Conclusion. 






a city of brotherly love, stood for that spirit of universal 
toleration which found no abiding place save in America. 
Their feet were planted directly upon that path which leads 
from the darkness of the middle ages down to the lighl 
of the nineteenth century, from the oppressions of the 
past, to the freedom of the present. Holding as they did 
opinions banned in Europe, and which only the fullness 
of time could justify, standing as they did on what was 
then the outer picket line of civilization, they best repre- 
sented the meaning of the colonization of Pennsylvania, 
and the principles lying at the foundation of her institu- 
tions and of those of the great nation of which she forms 
a part. 




INDEX, 



Agreement forming Frankfort Land Autographs : 



Company, 32-38 

Aldekerk, 148 

Alsace, 118 

Altona, Communities at, 12 

Altdorf, 53, 54 

Altheim, 118 

Alkmaer, 137 

Ames, Fisher, 292 

Ames, William, 14, 112, 114 

Amiens, 53 

Amsterdam, 2, 9, 10, 12, 14, 15, 16, 
17, 101, 107, 119, 125, 126, 130, 
131, 138, 140, 162, 170, 174, 195, 
197, 198, 205, 206, 208, 209, 222 

Amsterdam, Coat of Arms of, 144 

Anabaptists, _7 JL 8 Ju a u 16, 84, 291 

Anders, Schwed, 92 

Andrews, Simon, 140, 288 

Andross, 19 

Anhalt, 215 

" Anleitung zu griindlicher Ver- 
standniss," 27 

Antwerp, 10 

Antinomians, 291 

Appeal, Keith's, 134 

Arents, Jacob Classen, 140 j 



Jawert, Ralthasar, 32, *i 

Jawert, Johan, 41 

Kelpius, Johannes, 41, 223 

Kemler, Johannes, 27, 41 

Le Bruu, Johan, 36, 41 

Op den GraefT, Herman, 150 

Pastorius, Francis Daniel, 52 

Penn, Wm., 3 

Hendrick Pannebecker, 122 

Petersen, Johan Wilhelm, 24, 41 

Schutz, Catharina Elisabetha,4i 

Schutz, Johan Jacob, 29 

Sellen, Hendrick, 174 

Shoemaker, Peter, 118 

Sprogell, John Henry, 44 

Story, The, 14 

Van Bebber, Matthias, 255 

Van de Wall, Jacob, 22 

Von Mastricht, Gerhard, 34, 41 

Von Wylich, Tho., 28 

Babbitt, 154 
Bacher, Conrad, 56 
Backersdorf, 133 
Baltimore, 97 



Arets, Lenart, 3, 4, 17, 18, 19, 63, Baptists, 291 



159, 288 

Arm en town, 19 

Armitage, Benjamin, 63 

Arnheim, 162 

Arnold, Gottfried, 21, 219 

Aschaffenburg, 52 

Autographs : 

Behagel, Daniel, 22, 41 
Falckner, Daniel, 41, 230 
Falckner, Justus, 233 
Furly, Benjamin, 137 



Baptists, Origin of, 12 
Baptist Movement, 8 
Barbados, 105, 112, 292 
Barclay, Robert, 9, 12, 16 
Barlow, Samuel L. M., 211 
Bartlesen, Sebastian, 139 
Basle, 53 
Battenberg, 8, 9 
Baumann, W., 63 
Baurin, Frau, 56 
Bayreuth, 54 

295 



296 



Index. 



Bebber's Township, 141, 142 

Beer, Edward, 142 

Bees, 62 

Behagel, Daniel, 19, 21, 28, 29, 30, 

3i- 33 
Behagel, Daniel, Coat of Arms of, 22 
Behagel, Daniel, Autograph of, 22 
Behagel, Jacob, 28 
Bellers, Robert, 178, 194 
Berends, Claes, 139, 170 
Bergerland, 139 
Berkeley, Sir William, 211 
Berleburg, 222 
Berlin, 220 
Bermudas, 105 
Berne, 100 
Besse's " Suffering of the Quakers," 

114 
Bible of Hans Peter Umstat, 128 
Bibliographical Incident, 131 
Bibles, 170 

Bidermann, Ludwig, 215, 217 
Bietigheim, 218 
Biestkens, Nicolaes, 17 
Biork, Rev. Eric, 226, 233 
Blackwall, 6 

Bleikers, Johannes, 4, 5, 18 
Bleikers, Peter, 18 
Blomerse, Mary, S2 
Blootelingh, A., 130 
Blumenberg, 215, 2x9 
Bockenogen, Jan Willemse, 128 
Bodensee, 136 

Boehm, Jacob, 212, 216, 218, 219 
Bom, Agnes, 129 
Bom, Cornelius, 57, S4, 102, 124, 

128, 129, 130, 290 
Bom, Cornelius, Letter of, 102 
Bon, Hermann, 131, 151, 254, 260, 262 
Bowman, Wynant, 176 
Bowman, Ann, 176 
Bowyer, Thomas, 66 
Bradford, Andrew, 174 



Bradford's History of Plymouth, 

235. 253, 257 
Bradford, William, 64, 134, 138, 152, 

154, 163, 164, 165, 166, 167, 168, 

170, 221, 233 
Brandenburg, 89 
Brandt, Albertus, 126, 256, 287 
Bremen, 219 
Brick Kiln, 42 

Brook Farm Experiment, 177 
Brown, Henry Arrnitt, 128 
Brown, Peter, 158 
Brugge, 10 
Buckhold, 9 

Buckholz, Heinrich, 128 
Buckholz, Mary, 128 
Budd, Thomas, 152, 154 
Bullinger, 291 
Bun, Peter, 139 

Burgomasters of Amsterdam, 209 
Burlington, 134, 147, 152, 157, 220 

Calvin, 9 

Calvinistic Church, 84, 114 

Calvinists, 291 

Carpenter, Samuel, 125, 154, 165, 

166, 167 
Carr, Sir Robert, 210 
Casdorp, Herman, 169 
Casper, Thomas, 56 
Cassel, Abraham H., 120, 122 
Cassel, Arnold, 45, 287 
Cassels, Johannes, 260, 262 
Catholic Clergy, 114 
Caton, William, 14, 114 
Catrou, 8, 10 
Cavaliers, 52 
Cave of Pastorius, 19 
Caves in Philadelphia, 57 
Chalkley, Thomas, 14 
Charlotta Sophia, Duchess, 222 
Charter of Germaniown, 254,260-267 
Chestnuts, 87 



Index. 



297 



Church, Mennonite, 168, 169, 170 
Claasseu, Cornelia, 174 
Claessen, Cornelius, 139, 176 
Clark, Thomas, 49, 78 
Clans, Jacob, 16 

Claypoole, James, 5, 6, 18, 92, 124 
Cleves, 6, 79, 168 
Coats of Arms of: 

Amsterdam, 144 

Behagel, Daniel, 22 

Crefeld, 1 

Frankfort, 21 

Holy Roman Empire, 143 

Jaquet Family of Niiremburg, 
89 

Jawert, Balthasar, 32 

Kemler, Johannes, 27 

Le Brun, Johan, 36 

London, 50 

Miilheim, 162 

Netherlands, 20 

Palatinate, 111 

Pastorius, Francis Daniel, 51 

Penn, William, 81 

Pennypacker Family, Preface, 

Rotterdam, 254 

Van de Walle, Jacobus, 22 

Von Mastricht, Gerhard, 34 

Von Wylich, Thomas, 28 
Coenderts, Tennis, 260, 262 
Collegia Pietatis, 21 
Cologne, 56 

Colonization of Germantown, 3 
Comet of 1680, 128 
Commerce, 105 
Communal Plans of Plockhoy, 177, 

183-194 
Concord, The Ship, 5, 6 
Conrad, Civilia, 176 
Conrad, Dr. J. H., 4 
Conrad, Gertrude, 176 
Conrad, Johannes, 176 
Conrad, Peter, 176 



Conveyance of L,and to Crefelders, 

2,3 

Cook, Hannah, 136 

Cooke, Arthur, 154 

Cortrijk, 10 

Cotweis, Johan Conrad, 140, 288 

Coulson, Joseph, 44, 63, 159 

Court at Germantown, 157, 256, 257, 
253 

Coxe, Thomas, 3 

Craske, Seth, 3 

Crefeld, 1-6, 16, 17, 50, 56, 82, 91, 119, 
124, 125, 128, 129, 130, 133, 136, 139, 
140, 141, 148, 149, 168, 169, 226 

Crefeld, Coat of Arms of, 1 

Cresson, Susanna, 136 

Cresson, Walter, 136 

Crisheim, 124 

Crisp, Stephen, 114, 116 

Croese, Gerhard, 15, 118, 212 

Croese's History, 113, 115, 117 

Cromwell, 178, 211 

Culpepper, 59 

Dalem, 129 

Davis, William, 66 

Deal, 57, 82, 215 

Deed of Gift of Catherine Schutz, 42 

Deichman, Heinrich Johannes, 226, 

231 
De la Plaine, Elizabeth, 134 
De la Plaine, Jacob, 140 
De la Plaine, James, 63, 136, 141, 

158, 159, 288 
De la Plaine, Nicolas, 136 
De la Plaine, Susanna, 136 
Delavall, John, 125 
Delaware Bay, 84, 87 
De Leoni, Jean, 170 
Delft, 8 
" De Mundi Vanitate " of Pastorius, 

60 
Denmark, 56 



298 



Index. 



Denndorf, 215 

Desmond, Daniel, 142 

Detmold, 219, 231 

Deventer, 11 

De Voss, Jan, 139, 174 

Dewees, Adrian Hendricks, 119 

Dewees, Cornelius, 63, 142, 159, 288 

Dewees, Gerhard Hendricks, 119 

Dewees, William, 63, 142, 288 

Dewees, Zytien, 119 

De Wilderness, Jan, 63 

Dew, John and S., 133 

Dietz, Magdalena, 53 

Dietz, Stephen, 53 

Dilbeck, Abraham, 56 

Dilbeck, Iaaac, 6, 56, 82, 83, 91 

Dilbeck, Jacob, 56 

Dilbeck, Marieke, 56 

Dimicum, 85 

Dissentions Among the Quakers, 

134, 151, 152-157 
Doeden, Jan, 63, 131, 210, 287 
Dokkum, 15 

Doopsgezinde or Taufgesinnte, 9 
Dordrecht Confession of Faith, 149 
Dordrecht, Council at, 17, 124, 148 
Dors, Hermann, 140, 160 
Dotterer, Henry S., 28, 82 
Dotzen, 56 
Drachten, 15 
Dubois, Solomon, 142 
Duisburg, 28, 42 
Dungwoody, Richard, 152 
Dunkerk, 76 
Duplouvys, Jan, 130 

Early Medical Diploma, 224 
Eden, Sir Frederic Morton, 195 
Ejectment of Frankfort Dand Com- 
pany, 45, 46, 75 
Engle, Paul, 63, 137, 256 
English Church, 84 
Epitaph of Dr. Griffith Owen, 64 



Ephrata, 218 
Erfurt, 52, 53 
Evansburg, 141, 161 
Ewer, Robert, 154 
Exemplum sine Exemplo, 74 
Extract from the Book of Daws of 
Germantown, 280 

Fabricius, Dr. Johannes, 223, 226 
Fairman, Thomas, 19, 123 
Fairs, 136 

Falckner, Christian, 230 
Falckner, Daniel, 38, 42-48, 74-78, 

137, 139, 153, 212, 215, 216, 227, 

230, 231, 244, 247, 257, 288, 290 
Falckner, Daniel, Autograph of, 41, 

230 
Falckner, Justus, 137, 139, 233, 288, 

290 
Falckner, Justus, Autograph of, 233 
Falckner's Swamp, 231 
Fare on Ship-board, 83, 84 
Farmers, Condition of, 101 
Fenda, Notary Christian, 56 
Fendern, 131 

Ferdinand of Curland, Duke, 222 
Fickard, 'Squire, 54 
First book written in German in 

America, 221 
Fisher, Margaretha, 53 
Flanders, 7, 8, 187 
Flinsberger, Brigitta, 52 
Flinsberger, Christian, 52 
Flomborn, 120, 122 
Fourier, Charles, 177, 184 
Fox, George, 12, 112 
Frame, Richard, 149, 163, 255 
Frame, Richard, poem of, 164 
Franciscus, 53 
Franckenland, 94 
Frankfort, 5, 6, 19, 21, 23, 24, 27, 

28, 29, 38, 43, 47, 50, 52, 54, 56, 88, 

116, 152 



Index. 



> 99 



Frankfort, Coat of Arms of, 21 

Frankfort Land Company, 3, 21, 44, 
43, 74-79- 22 7. 230 

Frankfort Land Company, Forma- 
tion of, 31 

Frankfort Land Company, Eject- 
ment of, 45, 46 

Frankfort Land Company, Pastor- 
ius Connection with, 62 

Frankfurt on the Oder, 220 

Frederickstadt, 42 

Frey, Heinrich, 19, 118 

Fried, Paul, 142 

Friends, 47, 63 

Friends, Dissensions among the, 

151, 152-157 
Friends, Relations with Mennonites, 

14, 15, 16 
Friesland, 9, 137 
Frischman, Henrich, 53 
Fulda, 52 
Funk, 9, 17 
Furly, Benjamin, 2, 5, 6, 45, 47, 56, 

76, 77, 93. 94, 137, 142, 214, 252, 

290 
Furly, Benjamin, Autograph of, 137 

Gasper, Thomas, 83 

Gaukes, Ydse, 11 

Geissler, Daniel, 136, 138, 227, 256 

Genealogy, The Earliest, 174 

Geneva, 53 

Gerber, Maria Elizabetha, 226 

Gerckes, Anthony, 140, 288 

Gering, Daniel, 53 

Germanopolis, 57, 124 

Germantown as a Borough and its 

Book of Laws, 254 
Germantown Charter, 260-266 
Germantown Colonial Doorway, A, 

253 
Germantown, Condition of Land of, 
86, 87, 88, 124 



Germantown, Court at, 45, 157, 257, 

25S 
Germantown, Fire in, 129 
Germantown, Founders of, 4, 6, 95 
Germantown, Grund und Lager- 

Buch, 57 
Germantown, Laws of, 259, 267-287 
Germantown, Naming, of 95 
Germantown, Population of, 88, 140 
Germantown, Seal of, 123 
Germantown, Settlement of, 1, 17, 

18, 19, 21 
Gerrits, Lambert, 119 
Gerrits, William, 119 
Gerritz, Hendricks, 114 
Gerritz, Lubbert, 12 
Ghent, 10 
Gibb, John, 150 
Goebel, Max, 22, 27 
Gog, 168, 169 
Goodson, John, 133 
Gorcum, 122 
Goredyke, 15 
Gorgas, Johannes, 176 
Gosses, Hemine, 15 
Gotha, 52, 54 
Gottschalk, George, 136 
Gottschalk, Jacob, 63, 140, 168, 169, 

176 
Graeff, Hans, 63 
Gravesend, 56 
Growden, Judge, 78 
Grow, 15 

Growth of the Settlement, The, 123 
Guelderland, 139 
Gustavus Adolphus, 52 

Haarlem, 10, 16, 102, 128 

Hague, 10, 101 

Haldeman, 18 

Hamburg, 131, 139, 174, 222 

Hamburg, Communities at, 12 

Hanau, 28 



300 



Index. 



Hanover, 24 

Hanschooten, 139, 174 

Harberdinck, Levin, 136 

Hardick, Gerritje, 233 

Harlingen, 15 

Harmens, Trientje, 139 

Harmer, William, 141 

Hart, Jo., 147, 152 

Hartsfelder, Jurian, 19 

Hasevoet, Abraham, 19, 21, 23, 30 

Health of settlers, 91 

Heidelberg, 116 

Hendricks, Barnt, 140 

Hendricks, Gerard, 56, 118, 119, 120, 

144, 147, 292 
Hendricks, John, 114 
Hendricks, Mary, 118 
Hendricks, Peter, 16, 56, 126 
Hendricks, Peter, Letter of, 127 
Hendricks, Sarah, 118, 120 
Hendricks, Sytje, 119 
Hendricks, Willem, 137 
Henleveu, 15 
Hermans, Reynier, 158 
Hermit of the Wissahickon, 230 
Hesse, Countess of, 24 
Hiester, 292 

Hinke, Rev. Wm.J., 81 
History, Croese's, 113, 115, 117, 212 
Hodgkins, John, 56 
Hoedt, Caspar, 49, 134, 288 
Hoerveen, 15 

Hogs, 100, 273, 281, 282, 283, 285 
Holfert, 15 

Hollenstein, Herzog von, 24 
Hollingshead, 238 
Holme, John, Poem of, 165 
Holstein, 89 

Holtzhooven, Jacob Gerritz, 139 
Hoorn, 15 

Hoorn Kill, Destruction of, 210 
Hoorn Kill, Settlement at, 197-205 
Hosters, Wilhelm, 63, 139 



Houfer, Frank, 137 
Household of Pastorius, 96 
Houses in early Philadelphia, 57, 

93. I07 
Howe, Thomas, 161 
Huberts, Margaret, 176 
Huggin, Richard, 63 
Hutcheson, George, 152 

In den Hoffen, Anneke, 139 

In den Hoffen, Evert, 138 

In den Hoffen, Gerhard, 138, 142 

In den Hoffen, Hermann, 138, 142, 

161 
In den Hoffen, Peter, 139 
Indians, 89, 90, 91, 98, 99, 105, 153 
Indians, the, 234 
Indian Cunning, 90 
Indians, Friendly Intercourse with, 

253 
Indian Habits, 235-240, 244-252 
Indian Education, 239 
Indian Language, 241, 245 
Indians Making Pone, 249 
Infant Baptism, 10 
Information from Jacob Telner, 100 
Inhabitants of Germantown, 88, 89 
Ireland, 86 
Isaacs, Jacob, 19, 260, 262 



^V\<b 



Jacobs, Isaac, 143, 158 
Jacobs, John, 142 
Jacobs, Jurgen, 63/ 
Jacquet (]oat-of-Arms, 89 
Jacquet, Jan, 89 
James, Howell, 63 
Jamestown, 289 

Jausen, Conrad, 63, 169, 170, 176 
Jansen, Dirck, 63, 139, 158, 159 
Jansen, Dirck, Jr. 159 
Jansen, Klas, 128, 133, 142 
Jansen, Reynier, 137, 138 
Jansen, Stephen, 138 



Index. 



301 



Jawert, Baltbasar, 23, 31, 38, 45 
Jawert, Balthasar, Autograph of, 32, 

4i 
Jawert, Balthazar, Coat-of-Arrns of, 

32 
Jawert, Johannes, 38, 43~47> 5°, 75 

-78, 158, 227, 288 
Jawert, Johannes, Autograph of, 41 
Jawert, Johannes, Letter of, 48 
Jeffries, Wm., 5 
Jena, 53 

Jennings, Samuel, 134, 154, 157 
Jermau, Edward, 159 
Jever, 15 

Johannis, Cap., 87 
Johnson, John, 114 
Jones Levering family, 129 
Joris, David, 8, 9, 14, 17 
Journal, Page from Kelpius', 229 

Kaldkirchen, 2, 130 

Karsdorp, Harmen, 139, 170, 176 

Karsdorp, Isaac, 139 

Kassel, Arnold, 56, 119, 134, 136 

Kassel, Elizabeth, 119 

Kassel, Heinrich, 16, 63, 169, 176 

Kassel, Johannes, 119, 120, 151, 254 

Kassel, Mary, 120 

Kassel, Peter, 119 

Kassel, Sarah, 120 

Kassel, Ylles, 120 

Kassel, Ylles, Poem of, 120, 121, 122 

Kasselberg, Catharine, 176^ /' 

Kasselberg, Hendrick, 133' 

Kastner, Paul, 63, 133, 134 

Keith, George, 126, 127, 134, 151, 

152-157, 167, 220 
Keith's Appeal, 152, 153, 154 
Kelpius, Johannes, 38, 43, 75, 212, 

215, 218, 221, 223, 226, 227, 228, 

230, 231, 252, 290 
Kelpius, Johannes, Autograph of, 

4i, 223 



Kelpius, Johannes, Works and Let- 
ters of, 226, 227 

Kelpius' Journal, Page of, 229 

Keipiny, Portrait of, 226 

Kemler, Dr. Johannes, 23, 27, 31, 
38, 290 

Kemler, Johannes, Autograph of, 
27, 41 

Kemler, Johannes, Coat-of-Arms of, 
27 

Kempen, 149 

a'Kempis, Thomas, 149 

Keurlis, Peter, 4, 5. 63, 158, 256, 287 

Keyser, Dirck, 130, 160 

Keyser, Dirck, Jr , 160 

Keyser, Dirck, Geiritz, 130 

Keyser, Dircksz, 130 

Keyser, Leonard, 130 

Keyser, Peter, 63, 176 

Kintika, 252 

Kite, William, 147 

Klever, Peter, 138, 210 

Klincken, Anthony, 64 

Klincken, Aret, 63, 129, 140, 159, 
256, 287, 288 

Klostermann, Anna, 79, 131 

Klostermann, Dr. Hendrich, 79 

Klumpges, Jacob Jansen, 131 

Klumpges, Paul, 176 

Kohlhaus, Tobias L., 56 

Kolb, Barbara, 176 

Kolb, Henry, 142 

Kolb Jacob, 142, 174, 176 

Kolb, Johannes, 142, 174, 176 

Kolb, Magdalena, 174 

Kolb, Martin, 142, 169, 170, 174, 176 

Kolbs, 120 

Komupoango, 133 

Koster, Henry Bernhard, 66, 212, 
213, 215, 216, 217, 219, 220, 221, 
222, 223, 228, 290 

Koster, Ludolph, 219 

Kramer, Andreas, 133, 134, 288 



I 



30 2 



Index. 



Krey, Jan, 140, 142, 176 

Krey, Helena, 176 

Kriegsheim, 14, 16, 56, ill, 114, 116, 

118, 119, 120, 122 
Kunders, Thones, 4, 6, 56, 63, 149, 

150, 159, 254, 288 
Kunts, Benedict, 100 
Kuster, Aret, 63 

Kuster, Arnold, 17, 136, 176, 256 
Kuster, Elizabeth, 176 
Kuster, Gertrude, 136 
Kuster, Hermannus, 16, 136, 142, 

159, 176 
Kuster, Johannes, 136, 139, 142, 256, 

288 
Kuster, Paul, 63, 136 
Kustrin, 220 

Land, Condition of, in Germantown, 

86, 87, 100, 101, 108 
Land conveyed by W. Penn, 2, 3 
Land, divisions in Germantown, 

19, 91-94, 123, 124 
Land purchases in Pennsylvania, 

23, 28, 141, 149, 160 
Lane, Edward, 141 
Langen Rheinsdorf, 230 
Laurens, Jan, 19, 22, 23, 30, 102, 

125 
Laws, of Germantown, 259, 267-287 
Branding Horses, Pigs, 281 
Cattle and Pigs, 273, 284 
Chickens, Cattle, Burning 

Brush, 275 
Drunkenness, 286 
Fences, 272, 278, 279 
Fires, 276, 277 
Roads, 285 
Swine, 282, 283, 285 
Trees, Dogs, 274 
Extract from the Book of Laws, 
280 
Le Brun, Johannes, 23, 27, 31, 38 



Le Brun, Johannes, Coat-of-Arms of, 

36 
Le Brun, Johannes, Autograph of, 

36, 4i 
Leeuwarden, 15 
Leghitz, 53 
Lemgo, 215, 231 
Lensen, Jan, 4, 17, 18, 20, 64, 129, 

176, 256 
Letter of Gerhard Roosen, etc., 170 
Letter in the handwriting of Mat- 
thias Van Bebber, 129. 
Letter of Jawert, 48 
Letter of Johann Samuel and Hein- 

rich Pastorius, 108 
Letter of Joris Wertmuller, 100 
Letter of Pieter Hendricks, 127 
Letter of Zimmermann, 213, 214 
Letters of Attorney, 28, 39 
Letters Home, 81 
Letters of Pastorius, 30, 60, 61, 81 
Letters of Plockhoy to Cromwell, 

178, 179, 180 
Letter of Schutz, 31 
Levering, Gerhard, 129 
Levering, Wigard, 129 
Lewes, 197 

Lewis, Mr. Lawrence, 2 
Leyden, John of, 8, 9, 10 
Limburg, 53 
Lindau, 136 
Linderman, Jan, 137 
Linen, 150, 166 

Literature, 51, 74, 164, 165, 290 
Lloyd, David, 45~49, 77, 78, 267 
Lloyd, Thomas, 57, 155, 267 
Logan, James, 14, 125, 142 
Loner, 255 
London, 3, 5, 6, 56, 114, 125, 126, 

127, 133, 134, 157, 178, 181, 215, 

222, 231 
London, Coat-of-Arms of, 50 
London, Society in, 50 



Index. 



303 



Longwortk, Roger, 126 
Loof, Anton, 64, 133, 2S8 
Lorentz, George G., 215 
Lorentz, Heinrich, 139, 215 
Lowther, George, 44, 45, 75 
Lubeck, 28, 38 
Lucken, Jan, 4, 5, 17, 64, 287 
Lucken, Mercken Williamsen, 5 
Lukens, Adam, 17 
Luther, 9, 11 1, 130, 290 
Lutke, Daniel, 215 

Maatschoen, 7 

Macnamara, Thos., 49, 77, 78 

Malkwara, 15 

Manayunk, 123 

Mannheim, 54, 116 

Martyrdom, 10, 11 

Martyrer Spiegel, 149 

Mather, Cotton, 211 

Matthys, Jean, 8 

Mayence, 52 

Mazarin, Cardinal, 53 

McComb, John, 154 

Meaux, 52 

Medical Diploma, Early, 224 

Mehls, Hans Heinrich, 64, 140, 2S8 

Mehrning, 7 

Members of Mennonite Church, 176 

Mennonite Church, 168, 169, 170, 

174 
Mennonite Meeting House in Ger- 

mantown, 175 
Mennonites, 2, 12, 14, 114, 118, 119, 

120, 125, 126, 130, 133, 134, 137, 

139, 141, 142, 148, 149, 168, 170, 

208, 210, 291 
Mennonites, Beliefs and Practices 

of, 10 
Mennonites, Community at Ger- 

mantown, 168, 169, 170 
Mennonite Confession of Faith, 

170-174 



Mennonites, Description of, by W. 
Penn and Thomas Chalkley, 14 

Mennonites, Origin of, 7, 8, 9 

Mennonites, Persecutions of, 10, 11 

Mennonites, Settlement in Penn- 
sylvania, 16 

Mennonite Treatment of Friends, 
12, 14, 16 

Merian, Casper, 21, 23, 28-31 

Millan, Hans, 131, 138 

Millan, Imity, 138 

Millan, Margaret, 139 

Millan, Matthias, 64, 138, 256 

Miller, Peter, 228 

Modeln, George Leonard, 64 

Morgan, Benjamin, 64 

Morris, Anthony, 129, 147, 154 

Moyer, Peter Jans, 131 

Muhlenberg, Henry Melchior, 6, 
217, 227, 228, 292 

Miihlhausen, 52 

Miihlheim, 28, 124, 129, 131, 133, 

137, 139, l62 
Miihlheim, Coat-of-Arms of, 162 
Muller, Frederick, 17 
Muller, Miss Elizabeth, 17 
Mumford, Stephen, 226 
Munster, 7, 8 
Munzer, Thomas, 8 
Murphy, Henry C, 206 
Murray, Humphrey, 154 

Nancy, 52 

Naumburg, 54 

Neander, 21, 27 

Needs of Voyage to America, 101 

Netherlands, Coat-of-Arms of, 20 

Neues, Hans, 64, 169, 176 

Neus, Jan, 64, 137, 141, 168, 174, 176 

Newberry, John, 142 

New Castle, 85 

New York, 64 

Nippold, 9 



304 



Index. 



Nordyke, Jacob, 15 
Nuremberg, 53, 89, 128, 226 

Oldenslo, 27 

Op den Graeff, Abraham, 4, 6, 17, 18, 
56, 134, 144, 149, 150, 151, 152, 157 
-161, 254, 260, 262, 287 

Op den Graeff, Anne, 161 

Op den Graeffs, Brothers, 4, 5, 16, 
126, 292 

Op den Graeff Brothers and the Pro- 
test against Slavery, 144 

Op den Graeff, Dirck, 4, 6, 17, 18, 56, 

134, 144, 147, 149. 150, 151, 152, 
157, 160, 254, 260, 262, 287 
Op den Graeff, Hermann, 4, 5, 6, 16, 
17, 18, 56, 91, 119, 134, 148, 149, 
150, 152, 157, 158, 254, 260, 262, 287 
Op den Graeff, Hermann, Autograph 

of, 150 
Op den Graeff, Isaac, 149, 161 
Op den Graeff, Jacob, 158, 161 
Op den Graeff, Margaret, 149, 161 
Op den Graeff, Nilcken, 160 
Op den Graeff, Trintje, 160 
Op den Trap, Herman, 133 
Osset, Gilles, 197 
Oudeboone, 15 
Owen, Dr. Griffith, 64 
Owen, Robert, 177 

Palatinate, 18, 120, 126, 142, 169, 

170, 174. 194 
Palatinate, Coat-of-Arms of, in 
Palatinate, French invasion of, 121 
Palmer, Esther, 226 
Pamphlet of Plockhoy, 181 
Pannebecker, Hendrick, 100, 122, 

142 
Pannebecker, Hendrick, Autograph 

of, 122 
Pannebecker, Coat-of-Arms of, Pref- 
ace 



Papen, Heivert, 128, 151, 163, 254, 
256, 260, 262, 287 

Paper executed by Kelpius, 43 

Paper-mill, First, 163, 165, 166, 167 

Paris, 16, 53 

Pastorius, Augustin Adam, 64, 238 

Pastorius' Beschreibung, no, 128 

Pastorius, Francis Daniel, 3, 5, 6, 18, 
19, 22, 23, 28, 30, 38, 42-46, 48, 
49. 5i, 54- 57. 118, 123, 124, 125, 
133, 134, 139. Mo, 141, 144, 147- 
149, 151, 161, 165, 221, 231, 235, 
238, 241, 254, 255, 258-260, 26r, 
287, 288, 290, 292 

Pastorius, Francis Daniel, Ancestry 
of, 52 

Pastorius, Francis Daniel, Auto- 
graph of, 52 

Pastorius, Francis Daniel, Coat-of- 
Arms of, 51 

Pastorius, Francis Daniel, House- 
hold of, 96 

Pastorius, Francis Daniel, Life of 
53-57- 62-64, 74, 79- 80 

Pastorius, Francis Daniel, Personal 
appearance of, 59 

Pastorius, Francis Daniel, Sea voy- 
age of, 82-84 

Pastorius, Francis Daniel, Works of, 
51. 54, 55. 57, 58, 60-79 

Pastorius, Heinrich, Letter of, 108 

Pastorius, Johannes Samuel, 54, 56 

Pastorius, Johann Samuel, Letter 
of, 108 

Pastorius, Leges Pennsylvania, etc, 

259 
Pastorius, Letters, 61, 81 
Pastorius, Martin, 52 
Pastorius, Melchior Adam, 52-54 
Pastorius' School, 63 
Pemberton, Phineas, 63 
Penn, William, 2, 3, 14, 17-19, 28, 

57, 75, So, 85-87, 89, 91-93, 97-99, 



Index. 



305 



116, 11S, 123, 125, 129, 137, 150, 

155. 157, 237, 252, 260, 267, 268 

Penn, William, Autograph of, 3 

Penn, William, Coat-of-Arms of, 81 

Penn, William, Seal of, no 

Peters, Matthew, 15S 

Peters, Reynier, 158, 257 

Petersen, Dr. Johan Wilhelm, 24, 
28-31, 38, 231, 290 

Petersen, Dr. Johan Wilhelm, Auto- 
graph of, 24, 41 

Petersen, Dr. Johan Wilhelm, Seal 
of, 24 

Petersen, Isaac, 139 

Petition of Pastorius and Jawert, 46, 

47 
Pettinger, Johannes, 136, 158, 256, 

257 
Philadelphia in time of Pastorius, 57 
Philips, Dirck, 8, 9 
Philipseck, 23 
Philipseck, Princess of, 24 
Phoenixville, 45 
Pietists, 21, 50, 54, 212, 215, 231 
Pietists, Voyage of, 215, 216 
Piggot, Alice, 138 
Piggot, John, 138 
Pletjes, Driessen, 149 
Pletjes, Grietjen, 149 
Plockhoy, Peter Cornelius, 177, 180, 

193, 194, 195, 197, 210, 211, 256, 

290, 292 
Plockhoy, on the South River, 195 
Plockhoy's Communal Plans, 177- 

194 
Plockhoy's last days, 210 
Plockhoy's letters to Cromwell, 178- 

180 
Plockhoy's settlement at Hoorn 

Kill, 197-208 
Plockhoy's Way to Peace, 181, 182 
Plockhoy's Writings, 197 
Plymouth, 215, 253, 257, 289, 292 



Poeldyk, 17 

Polemius, Aulic Counsellor, 220 
Population of Germantown, 88 
Population of Philadelphia, 88 

Portrait, Earliest American, 226 

Potts, Jonas, 64, 158, 288 

Potts, Thomas, 64, 158 

Powell, Howell, 79 

Power of Attorney given to Daniel 
Falckner, etc., 38 

Power of Attorney given to Pasto- 
rius, 28, 29, 30. 

Primer of Pastorius, 63 

Printers, 137, 170 

Prison, 140 

Proclamation of the Judges, 155, 
156 

Prosperity in Germantown, 104, 105 

Protest Against Slavery, 61, 145, 146, 

147, 151 
Prussia, First Mennonites in, 12 
Puritan leaders, 51 
Puritans, 291 
Pusey, Caleb, 154 

Quack, H. P. G., 182 

Quakerism on the Continent, 112, 

114, 116, 118 
Quakers, 45, 48,61, 64, 84, 112, 119, 

125, 126, 128, 129, 134, 146, 147, 

I 5 2 . I 53> io 7, 178, 212, 220, 222, 

252, 291, 292 
Quakers, Origin of, 12, 14, 16 

Raleigh, Sir Walter, 211 
Rawle, Francis, 125 
Rawle, W. Brooke, 120 
Rawle, William, 120 
Rebenstock ,Altien, 176 
Rebenstock, Johannes, 139 
Records of the Court, 157-160 
Regensburg, 54 



3o6 



Index. 



Remke, Govert, 3, 16, 19, 130, 141 
Remke, Johann, 16 
Renberg, Dirck, 139, 142 
Renberg, Michael, 139 
Renberg, Wilhelm, 139, 142 
Renunciation of Kelpius, 43 
Reyniers, Joseph, 138 
Reyniers, Tiberius, 138 
Rhine, 1, 6, 16, 52, 56, in 
Richardson, Samuel, 64, 154 
de Ries, Hans, 12 
Rittenhouse, David, 164 
Rittenhouse, Elizabeth, 162 
Rittenhouse, Gerhard, 162 
Rittenhouse, Heinrich Nicholaus, 162 
Rittenhouse, Maria Hagerhoffs, 162 
Rittenhouse, Watermark used by, 

166 
Rittenhouse, William, 162, 165, 167, 

169, 176, 210 
Rittinghuysen, Claus, 64 
Rolfe, George, 112, 114 
Rome, 52 

Romish Church, 84 
Roosen, Gerhard, 7, 9, 10, 12, 16, 17, 

131, 170 
Roosen, Paul, 139, 170 
Rostock, 24 
Rothman, Bernhard, 8 
Rotterdam, 2, 5, 6, 10, 22, 45, 56, 76, 

82, 103, 125, 137, 149, 215 
Rotterdam, Coat-of-Arms of, 254 
Roxborough, 123 
Rudman, 233 
Rupp, 18 

Rutter, Thomas, 66, 134, 288, 290 
Rutters, Koenradt, 6, 56, 64 
Ryndertz, Tjaert, 11 

"Saalhof,"54 
Saardam, 15 

Sachse, Julius F., 215, 218, 221, 231, 
233 



Salms-Redelheim, Countess von, 24 
Saroschi, Isaac Ferdinand, 136 
"Satan's Harbinger Encountered," 

154 
Saur, 231 

Schaeffer, Peter, 215 
Schaffer, Isaac, 131 
Scharding, 130 

Scheffer, J. G. DeHoop, 126, 131 
Scherkes, David, 124, 134, 160, 287 
Schiedam, 124 
Schlegel, Christopher, 139 
Schleswig, 89 
Scholl, Johannes, 142 
School of Pastorius, 63 
School book, First in Pennsylvania, 

63 
Schools, 59, 140, 180 
Schotte, Dr., 231 
Schuchart, Anna Maria, 216 
Schumacher, Abraham, 120 
Schumacher, Barbara, 120 
Schumacher, Benjamin, 120 
Schumacher, Elizabeth, 120 
Schumacher, Frances, 118 
Schumacher, George, 114, 120 
Schumacher, Gertrude, 118 
Schumacher, Jacob, 6, 56, 91, 96, 

118, 287 
Schumacher, Isaac, 64, 120, 141, 288 
Schumacher, Johan, 114 
Schumacher, Mary, 118 
Schumacher, Peter, 4, 56, 64, 114, 

118, 120, 134, 140, 141, 143, T58 

174, 287, 288 
Schumacher, Peter, Autograph of, 1 1 8 
Schumacher, Sarah, 118, 120 
Schumacher, Susanna, 120 
Schumberg, Tobias, 53, 60, 136 
Schutz, Catharina, 38, 42, 231 
Schutz, Catharina, Autograph of, 41 
Schutz, Johan Jacob, 19, 21, 28, 29, 

3°, 3i» 54, 74, 290 



Index. 



307 



Schutz, Johan Jacob, Autograph of, 

29 
Schutz, Johan Jacob, Seal of, 29 
Schwan, Schwed, 92 
Schweuckfeldt, Caspar, 14 
Schwenckfeldt, Caspar, Contempo 

rary Portrait of, 13 
Schwerin, Otto von, 220 
Seal of Germantown, 123 
Seal of Johan Jacob Schutz, 29 
Seal of Johan Wilhelm Petersen, 24 
Seal of William Penn, no 
Sea voyage, 82, 216 
Sea voyage of Pastorius, 82, 84 
Seelig, Godfried, 43 
Seidensticker, Oswald, 16, 20, 129, 

148, 230, 288 
Seimens, Jan, 4, 5, 128 
Sell, Martin, 136 
Sellen, Dirck, 133 
Sellen, Hendrick, 16, 64, 131, 133, 

142, 174, 176 
Sellen, Hendrick, Autograph of, 174 
Sellen, Mary, 176 
Servants, 102, 105 
Settlement of Pennsylvania, Origin 

of, 14 
Sewel, William, 15, 16, 134 
Shippen, Joseph, 150 
Shippen, Rebecca, 125 
Shoes of the early Palatinate, 112 
Significance of the Settlement, the, 

289 
Silans, Johan, 131, 257, 288 
Simons, Menno, 8, 9, n, 131, 133 
Simons, Menno, Date of birth of, 

Simons, Menno, Life and works of, 

9» !3i 
Simons, Walter, 64, 124, 159, 288 
Simpson, Frances, 56 
Sipman, Dirck, 2-5, 16, 19, 119, 128 

-130, 141 



Siverts, Cornelius, 131, 134, 137, 256, 

288 
Skippack,i26, 133, 137, 139, 141, 161, 

170, 174 
Slavery, 211, 292 
Slavery, Protest against, 62, 144-147, 

151 
Sleidanus, 7 
Smith, John, 159 
Smith, Matthew, 159, 160 
Snow, A great, 128 
Snyder, Sicke, 9 
Sommerhausen, 53, 124, 273 
Souplis, Andries, 131, 133, 288 
Southwick, Daniel, 292 
Southwick, Provided, 292 
Speikerman, Mariecke, 139 
Spener, Philip Jacob, 21, 24, 54, 212, 

231 
Speyer, 54 
Springett, Herbert, 3 
Sprogell, John Hendrick, 43-49, 74, 

76-79. !39. 2 3i» 2 3 2 

Sprogell, John Hendrick, Auto- 
graph of, 44 

Sprogell, Ludwig Christian, 139 

"Spurring Verses," 206-208 

Steendam, Jacob, 206 

Stockholm, 222 

Stocks, 141 

Stork, Arnold, 42 

Story, Thomas, autograph of, 14 

Story, Thomas, Testimony and 
preaching of, 14, 15 

Strasburg, 53 

Strauss, George, 19, 21, 23, 30, 31 

Strayer, Andrew, 142 

St. Egidius, 24 

Streypers, Jan, 2, 3, 4, 5, 16, 18-20 

Streypers, Leonard, 5 

Streypers, Wilhelm, 4, 5, 18, 20, 64, 
128, 130, 136, 159, 288 

Stubbs, 14 



3 o8 



Index. 



Survey of land, 123, 124 
Swanendael, 197 
Swans, Valley of the, 197 

Tanners, 97 

Telner, Jacob, 2, 3, 5, 16, 19, 56, 
107, 124, 127, 130, 140, 149, 160, 
254, 260, 262, 287, 290 

Telner, Susanna, 125, 126 

Telner's Township, 126 

Ten Cate, S. Blaupot, 7, 8, 10, 11, 
130 

Thomas, Gabriel, 150, 166, 255 

Thoren, 222 

Tibben, Heindrich, 139, 159 

Tilers, 97 

Timmerman, Christopher, 176 

Tisserands, 8 

Title pages of books : 

"A Circumstantial Geograph- 
ical Description of the Lately 
Founded Province of Pennsyl- 
vania." By Pastorius, 65, 67, 68 
" Anleitung zu griindlicher Ver- 
standniss," etc.' By Johanna 
Bleanora von Merlau, 26 

"An Appendix to the Confes- 
sion of Faith," etc. The Men- 
nonites, 173 

" A Short Description of Penn- 
sylvania," etc. By Richard Frame, 

163 

" Continuatio der Beschreibung 
der Landschaft Pennsylvanias." 
By Daniel Falckner, 243 

"Curieuse Nachricht von Penn- 
sylvania." By Daniel Falckner, 
242 

"Disputatio Inauguralis," etc. 
By Pastoiius, 55 

\ ' Ein Send-Brief, ' ' etc. By Pas- 
torius, 71 

" Four Boasting Disputers Re- 
buked." By Pastorius, 72 



" Gerhard Croese's Ouaker- 
Historie," 113, 115, 117 

' ' Herzens-Gesprach mitt Gott. " 
By Johanna Eleanora von Merlau, 

25 

" Kort en Klaer Ontwerp," etc- 
By Plockhoy, 196 

" Kurtze Beschreibung des H. 
R. Reichs Stadt Windsheim." 
By Pastorius, 70 

"Missive van Cornells Bom," 
103 
Ms. Volume by Sprogell, 232 
"Opera Menno Symons," 132 
"Some Letters and an abstract 
of Letters from Pennsylvania," 
etc., 135 

"The Christian Confession of 
the Faith," etc. The Mennonites, 
171, 172 

" Vier kleine doch ungemeine 
und sehr nutzliche Tractatlein." 
By Pastorius, 69 

Witt's translation of the hymns 
of Kelpius, 225 
Tombstone, The Oldest, 140 
Town Officers, Germantown, 287, 

288 
Townsend, Richard, 18, 64 
Trades and Tradesmen, 96, 97, 104 
Trappe, 130 

Tresse, Thomas, 137, 165 
Tunes, Abraham, 4, 5, 18, 64, 91, 

287 
Tunes, Hermann, 17, 64, 158 
Turner, Martha, 125 
Turner, Robert, 125, 165 
Tuynen, Mary, 176 
Tuyner, Hermen, 176 
Tyson, Altien, 176 
Tyson, Cornelius, 64, 140 
Tyson, Margaret, 176 
Tyson, Reynier, 4, 134, 158, 2S7, 288 



Index. 



309 



Uberfeld, Johann Wilhelm, 19, 21, 

30, 31, 290 
Umstat, Anna Margaretta, 128 
Umstat, Barbara, 128 
Umstat, Eve, 122, 128 
Umstat, Hans Peter, 122, 128 
Umstat, John, 128, 142, 158 
Umstat, Nicholas, 128 
Upland, 84, 85, 89 
Urdingen, 56 
Vaihingen, 218 

"Valley of the Swans," 197, 208 
Van Aaken, H. J., 129 
Van Akkereu, Abraham, 195 
Van Bebber, Isaac Jacobs, 124, 143, 

168, 176 
1 I Van Bebber, Jacob Isaacs, 3, 16, 119, 

124, 134, 142, 150, 176, 217, 254, 287 
Van Bebber, Matthias, 124, 129, 

141, 142 
Van Bebber, Matthias, Autograph 

of, 255 
Van Bebber, Matthias, Letter of, 

129 
Van Bebber's Rock, 143 
Van Braght, 7, 11, 17, 120, 149 
Van Burkelow, Reynier, 119, 133, 

143 
Van den Wyngaert, Tobias Govertz, 

130. 131 
Van der Gaegh, John, 76 
Van der Werf, Richard, 139, 288 
Van de Walle, Jacobus, 19, 21, 28- 

32, 33, 54 
Van de Walle, Jacobus, Autograph 

of, 22 
Van de Walle, Jacobus, Coat-of- 

Arms of, 22 
Van de Walle, Maria, 38 ^ 

Van de Walle, Maria, Autograph of, 

4i 
Van de Wilderness, John, 159 
Van de Woestyne, John, 136 



Van Enden, David, 56 

Van He lie, Pieter, 170 

Van Kampen, Jacob, 170 

Van Kolk, Dirck, 131, 151, 254, 260, 

262 
Van Loevenigh, Jan, 226 
Van Sanen, Weyntie, 130 
Van Sintern, Heinricb, 139, 170 
Van Sintern, Isaac, 64, 139, 169, 170, 

174, 176 
Van Sintern, Sarah, 176 
Van Vossen, Arnold, 64, 139, 141, 

160, 169, 174, 176 
Van Vossen, Civilia, 176 
Ver Loove, Karel, 206 
Verses of Howell Powell, 79 
Vetterkuke, Mariette, 56 
Vienna, 52 
Vines, 87, 101 
Vogelsang, 219 

Volckmans, Dorothea Esther, 54 
Von Mastricht, Dr. Gerhard, 23, 31, 

38 
Von Mastricht, Gerhard, Autograph 

of, 34, 4i 
Von Mastricht, Gerhard, Coat-of- 

Artns of, 34 
Von Merlau, Johanna Eleanora, 23. 

29, 3o, 3 r , 54. 231 
Von Merlau, Johanna Eleanora, 

Life of, 23, 24, 27 
Von Merlau, Johanna Eleanora, 

Works of, 25-27, 290 
Von Rodeck, Johann Bonaventura, 

54 

Von Sayn, Count Casimir, 222 

Von Schaak, Baron, 222 

Von Wylich, Dr. Thomas, 23, 27, 3r, 
38 

Von Wylich, Dr. Thomas, Auto- 
graph of, 28 

Von Wylich, Dr. Thomas, Coatof- 
Arms of, 28 



3io 



Index. 



Voyage of Jacob Telner, 107 

Waldenses, 7, 8, 130, 255 

Walnuts, 87 

Ward, Townsend, 123 

War in the Palatinate, 120-122 

War of the Rebellion, Largest con- 
tribution to, 122 

Warner, Christian, 64, 136, 227 

Wasey, Joseph, 57 

Watermark used by Rittenhouse, 
166, 167 

Weavers, 10, 18, 255 

Weaving, 8, 133 

Wertmuller, George, 6, 56, 83, 102 

Wertmuller, George, Letter of, 100 

Wertmuller, Jochem, 102 

Wesel, 27, 28, 129 

Westphalia, 9 

Windsheim, 28, 53, 54, 64, 108, 136 

Wirtemburg, 212 

Wiseman, Thomas, 142 

Witgenstein, 222 

Witmarsum, 9 



Witt, Christopher, 64, 226 

Wolfsheim, 142, 174 

Woman in the Wilderness, 212, 217 

Woods, 124 

Worms, 54, in, 116, 118, 122 

Worrell, Rigert, 145, 147, 151 

Wulff, Paul, 64, 131, 134, 136, 140, 

159, 160, 287, 288 
Wurtzburg, 52 
Wynkoop, 292 

Ziegler, Michael, 142 
Zimmermann, Christopher, 142, 215 
Zimmermann, John Jacob, 212, 213, 

214, 218, 219, 226, 290 
Zimmermann, John Jacob, Letter of, 

213, 214 
Zimmermann, Maria Margaretha, 

215, 217, 256 
Zimmermann, Matthias, 215 
Zimmermann, Philip Christian, 139 

215 
Zimmermanns, Widow, 42, 215 
Zwinglius, 9 



